Monday, October 13, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's prime minister warned Thailand on
Monday that "armed clashes" will erupt if Thai troops continue to
trespass over the border.
Prime Minister Hun Sen's comments came after he met Thailand's foreign
minister in the latest effort to ease tensions over a territorial
dispute that earlier this month sparked a brief exchange of gunfire at
the border.
"We told them that if they do not stop (trespassing), armed clashes will
break out," Hun Sen told reporters.
Thailand's Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat did not immediately
comment after the meeting.
Last week, two Thai soldiers were injured by land mines along the
border. Thailand says the soldiers were on the Thai side of the border,
but Cambodia has accused them of overstepping the boundary at a point
several miles (kilometers) west of the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
The area — known as Eagle Field — could become "a life-and-death battle
ground," Hun Sen said, adding that Thai soldiers are now camped there
about 33 yards (meters) from Cambodian troops.
Three days before that incident, at a point a few hundred yards (meters)
away, a gunfight broke out between soldiers from the two sides. One
Cambodian and two Thai soldiers were wounded.
Both sides claimed the other fired first and blamed each other for being
on the wrong side of the border.
Earlier Monday, Sompong held talks with his Cambodian counterpart, Hor
Namhong, but they failed to make any breakthrough in the dispute.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Cambodia's Foreign Ministry
called for more talks to "avoid further unwarranted hostilities."
Cambodian Maj. Gen. Srey Doek, an army commander, said his troops are on
high alert but declined to give their numbers.
Both countries have long claimed Preah Vihear, but the World Court
awarded it to Cambodia in 1962. Sovereignty over some of the land around
the temple, however, has not been clearly resolved.
Tensions flared July 15 after UNESCO, the U.N. agency, approved
Cambodia's bid to have the Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage
Site. Both sides deployed troops to the border.
There has been a limited troop withdrawal from the area since, and talks
have been held several times to resolve the conflicting claims, but
without much progress.
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