Wednesday, 8 April 2009

Cambodia, Thailand agree to plant border posts near Preah Vihear temple

www.chinaview.cn
2009-04-07

PHNOM PENH, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Thailand here on Tuesday agreed to plant border posts in July within the disputed areas near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, said senior officials.

Technicians from both sides will jointly survey the land near the temple with the priority of planting border posts there and therefore helping contain armed clashes, according to Var Kim Hong, chairman of the Cambodian side within the Joint Border Committee of Cambodia and Thailand (JBC), and his Thai counterpart Vasin Teeravechyan.

"We will help stop accidents of armed clashes," said Var Kim Hong.

The two chairmen made these remarks to reporters after JBC conducted a two-day meeting on demarcation issues in Phnom Penh.

Two rounds of armed confrontations took place last Friday after Thai troops with weapons intruded on Cambodian land near the temple, and led to death and casualty on the Thai side, according to a statement issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Since July 2008, troops from both sides have stationed near the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and two armed confrontations last year sparked brief concerns of war.

The two neighboring countries have never fully demarcated their disputed border, mainly due to different interpretations of historical maps, as well as the landmines left over from decades of civil war in Cambodia.

Editor: Yan

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