Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Thai and Cambodian prime ministers want Beijing talks

Tue 21 Oct 2008

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat plans to meet his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, in Beijing this week for talks on recent clashes along a disputed stretch of their border, the foreign minister said Tuesday. Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat said the two sides were trying to fix a meeting for Friday on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe summit in the Chinese capital.

"We are working on a time slot for the two leaders to discuss what we should do next," Sompong told reporters before a cabinet meeting.

Cambodian officials also say a bilateral meeting is planned.

A Thai soldier died Tuesday from wounds sustained on October 15 in a 40-minute firefight near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which is claimed by both countries. Three Cambodian soldiers were also killed.

It was the most serious border clash in years but tensions have now eased and both sides have said they do not expect any escalation in the conflict.

Some analysts link the eruption of fighting on the border to the political instability that has roiled Thailand for the past three years, and which appears to be reaching another climax.

The Thai army has been under pressure from an anti-government street campaign to oust Somchai in a coup and some analysts suggest the clashes could be a way to divert public attention to the border from domestic politics.

Hun Sen said last week there was no need for outsiders such as the United Nations or the Association of South East Asian Nations to get involved in the dispute.

Somchai said he was looking forward to meeting Hun Sen in China. "It will be nice to have a talk with him," he said before a cabinet meeting Tuesday.

The hilltop Preah Vihear temple has stirred nationalist passions in both countries for generations.

The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since, but it failed to determine the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the Hindu ruins.

(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Alan Raybould)

No comments: