Cambodian Defence Minister Gen. Tea Banh.
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 Kyodo - Cambodia extended an olive branch to the new Thai government Wednesday by inviting its foreign and defense ministers to visit, with a view to improving bilateral ties that were severely strained under Thailand's previous government over a border dispute that erupted into clashes.
On the diplomatic front, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong invited Thailand's new foreign minister, Surapong Tovichakchaikul, to pay an official visit to Cambodia in the near future.
''I have full confidence that with our joint endeavor, you and I will be able to fulfill the aspiration of our two peoples to live in harmony and shared prosperity,'' he said in his invitation.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh invited his Thai counterpart Gen. Yuthasak Sasiprapha to visit ''in order to strengthen and promote bilateral relations between our two defense forces.''
Over the last three years, Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads, particularly over a 4.6 square kilometer area in the vicinity of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, which the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 belongs to Cambodia.
Indonesia, under an initiative of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has offered to send observers to the tense border area to monitor a ceasefire, after Cambodian and Thai troops are withdrawn from a designated provisional demilitarized zone.
Yuthasak has said since being given the defense portfolio in Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Cabinet that he would give priority to solving the Thai-Cambodian border problem that worsened under the previous government of Prime Minister Abihisit Vejjajiva.
Speaking Wednesday, he said that since Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appears to be on good terms with Yingluck, he hopes they can meet to pave the way for resumption of long-stalled General Border Committee meetings.
''Without holding a GBC meeting, we will not be able to talk about the withdrawal of troops and allowing the Indonesian observers into the area,'' Yuthasak was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying. ''We have to abide by the International Court of Justice's ruling. However, we have to make sure that both sides are in a win-win situation. To be in a win-win situation, we have to be friends,'' he added.
Yuthasak also said that if Hun Sen gives a green light, he would invite Tea Banh dinner in Bangkok, and after that he would go to Cambodia to visit him in return, according to the Bangkok Post.
''Gen. Tea Banh and I are old friends. We frequently met at meetings abroad when I was permanent secretary for defense and deputy defense minister,'' he said.
On the diplomatic front, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong invited Thailand's new foreign minister, Surapong Tovichakchaikul, to pay an official visit to Cambodia in the near future.
''I have full confidence that with our joint endeavor, you and I will be able to fulfill the aspiration of our two peoples to live in harmony and shared prosperity,'' he said in his invitation.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh invited his Thai counterpart Gen. Yuthasak Sasiprapha to visit ''in order to strengthen and promote bilateral relations between our two defense forces.''
Over the last three years, Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads, particularly over a 4.6 square kilometer area in the vicinity of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, which the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 belongs to Cambodia.
Indonesia, under an initiative of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has offered to send observers to the tense border area to monitor a ceasefire, after Cambodian and Thai troops are withdrawn from a designated provisional demilitarized zone.
Yuthasak has said since being given the defense portfolio in Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Cabinet that he would give priority to solving the Thai-Cambodian border problem that worsened under the previous government of Prime Minister Abihisit Vejjajiva.
Speaking Wednesday, he said that since Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appears to be on good terms with Yingluck, he hopes they can meet to pave the way for resumption of long-stalled General Border Committee meetings.
''Without holding a GBC meeting, we will not be able to talk about the withdrawal of troops and allowing the Indonesian observers into the area,'' Yuthasak was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying. ''We have to abide by the International Court of Justice's ruling. However, we have to make sure that both sides are in a win-win situation. To be in a win-win situation, we have to be friends,'' he added.
Yuthasak also said that if Hun Sen gives a green light, he would invite Tea Banh dinner in Bangkok, and after that he would go to Cambodia to visit him in return, according to the Bangkok Post.
''Gen. Tea Banh and I are old friends. We frequently met at meetings abroad when I was permanent secretary for defense and deputy defense minister,'' he said.
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