Cambodian, Thai troops clash near disputed temple

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 3 Kyodo - Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged gunfire for several minutes Friday near a disputed temple on the border between the two countries, officials and other
sources told Kyodo News.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said that his information from the
border indicated at least one Cambodian solider has been seriously wounded in
the incident.
One source said earlier there were casualties on both sides, while the second
said only Thai troops were believed to have been wounded.
But both sources said the clash broke out about 3 p.m. and ended soon thereafter.
Later, Gen. Neang Phat of the Ministry of National Defense told Kyodo News one
Cambodian was wounded on his right arm and two Thai soldiers suffered legs
wounds, but the situation returned to normal soon after it broke out.
Sources said Gen. Neang Phat and other senior Cambodian military leaders
exchanged telephone calls with their counterparts in Thailand to defuse the
situation.
Troops from both countries have been in a military standoff over a disputed
border area occupied by Thai troops near the Preah Vihear temple since July 15.
Friday's clash, Phay Siphan said, occurred about 3 kilometers west of the temple.
He said 17 Thai soldiers, after being denied entry into Cambodian territory,
used an M-79 rocket-propelled grenade launcher and fired toward the Cambodians,
triggering the skirmish.
Cambodian troops returned fire.
The local Thai commander, reached by Kyodo News by telephone from Bangkok,
refused to comment on the incident, saying only he was ''busy'' and unable to
talk at the moment.
Later, Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the Thai military spokesman in Bangkok, told
Kyodo News the Thai side ''did not fire first.''
The colonel said his information was that Cambodian troops had entered into
disputed territory and when a Thai patrol arrived to check the situation, the
Cambodians fired first into the air and then toward the Thai troops, who
returned fire.
Sansern confirmed two Thai soldiers were wounded and added that local Thai
commanders are trying to meet with their Cambodian counterparts to find ways to
prevent similar incidents in future.
Cambodia succeeded in June in getting Preah Vihear inscribed by UNESCO as a
World Heritage site, over Thailand's objections.
The border dispute and military standoff escalated after Cambodia detained
three Thai ultranationalist activists who Cambodia alleges illegally crossed
into Cambodia near the World Heritage-listed Temple.
Since then, Thailand and Cambodia had been building up their forces near the
temple.
On Aug. 16, several hundred troops from both sides who had been deployed to the
area since July 15 were drawn back from immediate confrontation, but they
remain close by.
Cambodia and Thailand have met for several rounds of talks on the standoff, but
it remains unresolved.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that his country would bring the
case to the international court if the bilateral discussions fail.
Friday's clash comes just nine days ahead of a planned visit to Cambodia by new
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Some analysts in Phnom Penh suggested the skirmish Friday was part of a plan by
ultranationalists on the Thai side who want to derail Somchai's visit and
chances of quickly ending the border dispute.
(With Chananthorn Kamjan in Bangkok)
==Kyodo