ID :
12779
Thu, 07/17/2008 - 11:06
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12779
The shortlink copeid
Cambodia, Thailand deploy troops at disputed border as tension rises
PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, July 17 Kyodo - Tension between Cambodia and Thailand rose Wednesday with Cambodia claiming Thai troops have entered its territory and Thailand saying they have only been
deployed to a disputed area of the border.
Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told a press conference in Phnom
Penh that the number of Thai troops on Cambodian soil had increased overnight
by more than two dozen to reach about 200.
He said the Thai military buildup is being met with the deployment of some 380
Cambodian soldiers to the same area.
Thailand insists it has no troops in Cambodia but only in an undemarcated area
of the border near the Cambodia-controlled Preah Vihear temple, which has been
at the center of a bitter 50-year dispute between the two countries.
Lt. Gen. Suchit Sitthiprapha, commander in charge of northeastern Thailand
including the border area in question, acknowledged that at least 100 army
rangers have been deployed to the area, saying they were sent there to ensure
peace.
''If Cambodia will not withdraw the troops, we won't pull out either because
it's a disputed area,'' Suchit said.
Khieu Kanharith warned the Thai side not to launch a military attack, saying
such action would be strongly condemned by the international community and
would damage the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which
both countries are members.
He said the Cambodian side does not intend to use force to expel Thai troops
from the land in question as doing so would be counterproductive for bilateral
relations, and added he hopes the Thai side is of the same mind.
Instead, the Cambodian government spokesman said, Cambodia will use bilateral
and diplomatic channels to avert fighting. Representatives of two governments
are to meet soon in Thailand, he said.
In Bangkok, Thai Army Commander in Chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda similarly said
he has instructed Thai troops in the disputed area to refrain from violence as
a means of resolving the border dispute.
On Tuesday, Cambodia claimed that some 30 Thai soldiers had entered its
territory in the vicinity of the temple -- just hours after Cambodian border
authorities detained three Thai nationalists around 9 a.m. in the same area.
The three -- a Buddhist monk, a clergyman and a clergywoman -- were released
later in the day and returned to Thailand.
They are reportedly associated with activists who have been staging marathon
street protests in Bangkok since late May against Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej's government relating to the inscription of the Preah Vihear Temple
as a World Heritage site.
The ancient cliff-top temple was last week inscribed as a World Heritage site,
capping seven years of efforts by Phnom Penh over Bangkok's objections.
Thailand had occupied the area from 1949 when Cambodia was a French
protectorate, but Cambodia won possession of the temple through an
International Court of Justice ruling in 1962.
deployed to a disputed area of the border.
Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told a press conference in Phnom
Penh that the number of Thai troops on Cambodian soil had increased overnight
by more than two dozen to reach about 200.
He said the Thai military buildup is being met with the deployment of some 380
Cambodian soldiers to the same area.
Thailand insists it has no troops in Cambodia but only in an undemarcated area
of the border near the Cambodia-controlled Preah Vihear temple, which has been
at the center of a bitter 50-year dispute between the two countries.
Lt. Gen. Suchit Sitthiprapha, commander in charge of northeastern Thailand
including the border area in question, acknowledged that at least 100 army
rangers have been deployed to the area, saying they were sent there to ensure
peace.
''If Cambodia will not withdraw the troops, we won't pull out either because
it's a disputed area,'' Suchit said.
Khieu Kanharith warned the Thai side not to launch a military attack, saying
such action would be strongly condemned by the international community and
would damage the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which
both countries are members.
He said the Cambodian side does not intend to use force to expel Thai troops
from the land in question as doing so would be counterproductive for bilateral
relations, and added he hopes the Thai side is of the same mind.
Instead, the Cambodian government spokesman said, Cambodia will use bilateral
and diplomatic channels to avert fighting. Representatives of two governments
are to meet soon in Thailand, he said.
In Bangkok, Thai Army Commander in Chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda similarly said
he has instructed Thai troops in the disputed area to refrain from violence as
a means of resolving the border dispute.
On Tuesday, Cambodia claimed that some 30 Thai soldiers had entered its
territory in the vicinity of the temple -- just hours after Cambodian border
authorities detained three Thai nationalists around 9 a.m. in the same area.
The three -- a Buddhist monk, a clergyman and a clergywoman -- were released
later in the day and returned to Thailand.
They are reportedly associated with activists who have been staging marathon
street protests in Bangkok since late May against Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej's government relating to the inscription of the Preah Vihear Temple
as a World Heritage site.
The ancient cliff-top temple was last week inscribed as a World Heritage site,
capping seven years of efforts by Phnom Penh over Bangkok's objections.
Thailand had occupied the area from 1949 when Cambodia was a French
protectorate, but Cambodia won possession of the temple through an
International Court of Justice ruling in 1962.
