Thailand, Cambodia insist on peaceful solutions to border issues

BANGKOK, February 14 (TNA) - Thai and Cambodian military authorities had their 21st Regional Border Committee (RBC) Meeting in Thailand on Thursday, during which they agreed to stick with peaceful solutions to border issues for mutual interest in the lead-up to the formation of the ASEAN Community (AC) by 2015. At the latest RBC meeting, co-chaired by Lieutenant General Paiboon Khumchaya, Commander of Thailand’s 1st Army Area Command, and General Bun Seng, Commander of Cambodia’s 5th Military Sector, both sides discussed solutions to pending border issues and cooperation to support formation of the AC by 2015 and then came out with the agreement. The Thai and Cambodian military commanders will, on February 15, sign a memorandum of the agreements on reviewed practices in accordance with the 2000 Thai-Cambodian memorandum of understanding or MOU on demarcation, the location of Thai and Cambodian contact points along their common border, solutions to the illegal logging of Siamese rosewood on the Thai side, suppression on the smuggling of narcotic precursors, paddy and human trafficking and solutions to their unclear borderline. The two sides will then report the conclusions of 21st the RBC Meeting to an upper Thai-Cambodian border committee. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Paiboon offered his condolences on the death of late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and extended gratitude towards Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni for a royal pardon for Thai prisoners. General Bun Seng then insisted on adhering to peaceful solutions to the border issues although he acknowledged that some of them are difficult to solve. (TNA)