2008-08-18
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Miniser Samak Sudaravej and Gen. Anupong Paojinda, commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army, Monday morning inspected the Thai-Cambodian border area near the Preah Vihear Temple in the eponymous Cambodian province, said a Cambodian official.
"They came to see their troops and the situation there. I expect their presence to help facilitate the second round of talks between the two countries' foreign ministers, which started today in Hua Hin province of Thailand to realize total troop withdrawal at the border area," Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodian Council of Ministers, told Xinhua.
"Up to now, we didn't get information that the Thai premier and the commander in chief would visit the Preah Vihear Temple," he said.
Meanwhile, Hang Soth, secretary general of the Cambodian National Authority of the Preah Vihear Temple, told Xinhua that the Thai pair arrived about 10:30 a.m. local time at the border area.
The two also had a meeting with Thai troops on their land, he said.
Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong left here for Thailand Monday morning, optimistic about his bilateral talk with the Thai side to seek peaceful resolution to withdraw the troops totally from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda and the surrounding area of the Preah Vihear Temple.
On July 15, Thai troops went into the border area to fetch three trespassers who had intended to claim Thai sovereignty over the Preah Vihear Temple. The troops stationed there ever since, thus triggering the military stalemate.
The same day, Thai troops occupied the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda, which is situated on the only way leading to the Preah Vihear Temple.
In the following days, both sides gradually increased their military personnel to a thousand strong at the border area to show their determination for territorial sovereignty.
On July 28, foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand held a meeting in Siem Reap province and agreed to mull the possibility of evacuating troops from the border.
On Aug. 3, Thai troops entered the Tamone Toch and Tamone Thom temples in neighboring Otdar Meanchey province of Cambodia, thus aggravating the standoff.
On Aug. 16, most of the troops at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda and within the surrounding area of the Preah Vihear Temple were evacuated according to both sides' agreement.
The Preah Vihear Temple straddles the Cambodian-Thai border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice decided that the 11-century temple and the land around belongs to Cambodia, which rankled the Thais and has led to continuous disputes.
Editor: Bi Mingxin
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Miniser Samak Sudaravej and Gen. Anupong Paojinda, commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army, Monday morning inspected the Thai-Cambodian border area near the Preah Vihear Temple in the eponymous Cambodian province, said a Cambodian official.
"They came to see their troops and the situation there. I expect their presence to help facilitate the second round of talks between the two countries' foreign ministers, which started today in Hua Hin province of Thailand to realize total troop withdrawal at the border area," Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodian Council of Ministers, told Xinhua.
"Up to now, we didn't get information that the Thai premier and the commander in chief would visit the Preah Vihear Temple," he said.
Meanwhile, Hang Soth, secretary general of the Cambodian National Authority of the Preah Vihear Temple, told Xinhua that the Thai pair arrived about 10:30 a.m. local time at the border area.
The two also had a meeting with Thai troops on their land, he said.
Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong left here for Thailand Monday morning, optimistic about his bilateral talk with the Thai side to seek peaceful resolution to withdraw the troops totally from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda and the surrounding area of the Preah Vihear Temple.
On July 15, Thai troops went into the border area to fetch three trespassers who had intended to claim Thai sovereignty over the Preah Vihear Temple. The troops stationed there ever since, thus triggering the military stalemate.
The same day, Thai troops occupied the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda, which is situated on the only way leading to the Preah Vihear Temple.
In the following days, both sides gradually increased their military personnel to a thousand strong at the border area to show their determination for territorial sovereignty.
On July 28, foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand held a meeting in Siem Reap province and agreed to mull the possibility of evacuating troops from the border.
On Aug. 3, Thai troops entered the Tamone Toch and Tamone Thom temples in neighboring Otdar Meanchey province of Cambodia, thus aggravating the standoff.
On Aug. 16, most of the troops at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda and within the surrounding area of the Preah Vihear Temple were evacuated according to both sides' agreement.
The Preah Vihear Temple straddles the Cambodian-Thai border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice decided that the 11-century temple and the land around belongs to Cambodia, which rankled the Thais and has led to continuous disputes.
Editor: Bi Mingxin
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