Cambodia informs U.N. of border dispute with Thailand

PHNOM PENH, July 20 Kyodo - Cambodia has sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council to press its case in an ongoing border dispute with Thailand, it was learned Sunday.

Sea Kosal, ambassador and permanent representative of Cambodia to the United Nations, sent the letter on Friday to Le Luong Minh, president of the U.N.Security Council.

In the letter, Sea Kosal claimed that Thai soldiers began crossing into Cambodia's territory near the Preah Vihear temple on Tuesday.

He also claimed that the encroachment was motivated by opposition-led protests in Thailand following the inscription of the temple as a World Heritage Site earlier this month.

Thailand has repeatedly claimed that 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.

In closing, Sea Sokal wrote, ''While Cambodia exercises maximum restraint to avoid armed confrontation, we cannot ignore that Thai military provocation is to create a de facto 'overlapping area' that legally does not exist on Cambodian soil.''

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, who is also the government spokesman, told Kyodo News on Sunday that Cambodia does not seek assistance from the world body or any other third party in resolving the dispute.

He said by sending the letter Cambodia only seeks to inform the members of the U.N. Security Council of the situation at the border.

In a move to defuse tensions, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh is scheduled to hold a meeting with Thai Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit to discuss the matter on Monday in the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet.