Tuesday, 17 March 2009

Border talks: Alleged incursions to be raised

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thet Sambath
Tuesday, 17 March 2009

BORDER TALK

CAMBODIAN military commanders said they will press their Thai counterparts during a meeting near Preah Vihear temple today to ensure their troops abstain from making new incursions into Cambodian territory. The meeting, they say, follows a renewed effort from Thai soldiers to put their stamp on Cambodian land by erecting fences and taking patrols into land that does not belong to them. Sao Socheat, deputy commander of Military Region 4, said Cambodian military officials would refer to a 2000 memorandum of understanding requiring soldiers on both sides to abstain from advancing into each other's territory. "If they accept it, then they should not be able to move their troops into Cambodian territory," he said. "Thai soldiers have been moving into disputed territory. They must stop if our border committees are going to work together to demarcate the border," he said. Srey Doek, 3rd Division Commander and the highest-ranking RCAF official on the ground there, said the "problem will be raised during the meeting in order to prevent confrontations in the future".

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