Thailand And Cambodia Expect No More Border Clashes : PM Abhisit

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PREAH VIHEAR CONTROVERSY

Thailand and Cambodia expect no more border clashes : Thai PM

Photo Abhisit's facebook

Thailand and Cambodia agree during a bilateral meeting in Phnom Penh that they wanted to see neither any border clashes or mutual conflicts.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he had talked with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen about the Preah Vihear dispute and they mutually agreed that they did not want to see neither any border clash or relations to deteriorate.

Abhisit met Hun Sen on the sidelines of the 4th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) Summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

He said the 40-minute talk focussed on a wide range of problems on Preah Vihear and its surrounding area. It seemed to be the first time that the two leaders had straightforward talks over the issue.

"The atmosphere is very smooth and both sides acknowledge the differing ideas. We expressed mutual views that we did not to see any tense situation, no more border clashes between the troops and do not want the relation to deteriorate," he said.

Both leaders tried to explore ways to enable the people of the two countries see the positive side of the relations and the problems should be solved in accordance with the existing agreements, said the Thai premier.

Abhisit said he has explained that the all existing mechanisms are working including the General Border Committee (GBC) and Joint Boundary Commission (JBC). The GBC and JBC at the provincial and military levels have regular contact to avoid misunderstandings and tension.

However, he said, the JBC did not run smoothly as the Thai Parliament has yet to approve the minutes of the border agency's meeting which could further delay negotiations on the border settlement near the Preah Vihear Temple.

The Cambodian premier knew that the minutes of the meeting have to be approved by Parliament as required by the Constitution, he said.

Abhisit said he told the Cambodian leader that the tension stemmed from the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)'s World Heritage issue and the contested area where a market, communities and temple were set up.

Thailand would like to see the area back to its previous status in 2000 with Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be fully observed by both sides while Cambodia wanted the 2008 generality, he said.

Abhisit said from now on the cultural exchange activities between the two countries would be promoted to boost ties between the people of the two countries.

AJoint Thai-Cambodian concert will take place on Nov 28 at the Indoor Stadium at Hua Mark to promote economic, cultural and social co-operation between the two neighboring countries.

-- The Nation 2010-11-18

[mca]

In the pic are they doing the " Hokey Cokey "?

" You put your army in, your army out, in out in out shoot it all about..."

Edited November 18, 2010 by mca

[gemini81]

More appropriate headline: No more clashes (until next time)

[asiawatcher]

I don't know but would think this has to be a positive step - no matter how small.

[jayjay0]

I don't know but would think this has to be a positive step - no matter how small.

Agreed.

Now if the red shirts don't start trouble it might be a big step.

[geovalin]

I don't know but would think this has to be a positive step - no matter how small.

Agreed.

Now if the YELLOW shirts don't start trouble it might be a big step.