ID :
13324
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 12:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/13324
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Thailand-Cambodia talks fail to make progress on border dispute+
BANGKOK, July 22 Kyodo - High-level military delegations from Cambodia and Thailand failed Monday to produce any prompt solution to resolve a military standoff on their border since last week.
After some eight hours of talks at a hotel in the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told a joint press conference that both sides merely agreed to refrain from violence and pledged to avert armed confrontations.
''We both understood each other. We have made some progress but there is an obstacle, which is the legal aspect. We agreed that further consultation with higher levels are needed,'' he said.
His dialogue partner Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, the supreme commander of Thailand's military, admitted at the press conference that the two sides were unable to come up with ''proper'' recommendations to make to their respective governments.
Boonsrang said he hoped to meet again soon but not before Cambodia's general election slated to be held July 27.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which both Thailand and Cambodia are members, have been meeting in Singapore since Sunday and have offered help resolve the military standoff, with Indonesia offering the setting-up of a contact group to facilitate talks.
After a working dinner Sunday, the ASEAN ministers issued a joint statement urging the two disputants ''to exercise utmost restraint and resolve this issue amicably, in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and good neighborliness.''''I proposed a contact group be set up to facilitate their talks over the dispute if the two sides fail to find solutions in their border meeting,'' Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said.
''I'm afraid that if we don't manage this issue well, it will affect the political stability in this region. So there is a need to deal with this issue seriously,'' he added.
Last week, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej talked over the phone and exchanged letters over the conflict.
Tension at the disputed border area escalated on July 15 when Cambodian authorities detained three Thais in an undemarcated area near the Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple, which has been at the center of a bitter 50-year bilateral dispute.
The two countries have reinforced their military strength in the area in the last week.
The ancient cliff-top temple was earlier this month 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.
After some eight hours of talks at a hotel in the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told a joint press conference that both sides merely agreed to refrain from violence and pledged to avert armed confrontations.
''We both understood each other. We have made some progress but there is an obstacle, which is the legal aspect. We agreed that further consultation with higher levels are needed,'' he said.
His dialogue partner Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, the supreme commander of Thailand's military, admitted at the press conference that the two sides were unable to come up with ''proper'' recommendations to make to their respective governments.
Boonsrang said he hoped to meet again soon but not before Cambodia's general election slated to be held July 27.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which both Thailand and Cambodia are members, have been meeting in Singapore since Sunday and have offered help resolve the military standoff, with Indonesia offering the setting-up of a contact group to facilitate talks.
After a working dinner Sunday, the ASEAN ministers issued a joint statement urging the two disputants ''to exercise utmost restraint and resolve this issue amicably, in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and good neighborliness.''''I proposed a contact group be set up to facilitate their talks over the dispute if the two sides fail to find solutions in their border meeting,'' Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said.
''I'm afraid that if we don't manage this issue well, it will affect the political stability in this region. So there is a need to deal with this issue seriously,'' he added.
Last week, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai counterpart Samak Sundaravej talked over the phone and exchanged letters over the conflict.
Tension at the disputed border area escalated on July 15 when Cambodian authorities detained three Thais in an undemarcated area near the Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple, which has been at the center of a bitter 50-year bilateral dispute.
The two countries have reinforced their military strength in the area in the last week.
The ancient cliff-top temple was earlier this month 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.
