via CAAI News Media
By SOPHENG CHEANG,Associated Press Writer
Friday, March 5
PONGROR, Cambodia – Cambodia showed off the firepower of its Soviet-made multiple rocket launchers Thursday, the country's defense minister said, in an exercise that comes amid simmering tensions with its neighbor Thailand.
Some 200 rounds from the truck-mounted BM-21 rocket launchers were fired in the mountains of Kampong Chhnang province, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the capital Phnom Penh. The rockets put out a fearsome flash and large amount of smoke when fired, and have a range of at least 12 miles (20 kilometers).
Cambodian officials denied the exercise was a show of strength meant to threaten Thailand, its opponent in several small armed clashes recently in a volatile and emotional dispute over some small patches of disputed border territory.
Defense Minister Tea Banh said the launch of the 122-mm rockets was part of ongoing efforts to protect Cambodia's territory.
"The firing was not to prepare for war with any neighboring country, rather we want to see the quality and the efficiency of those rockets," Tea Banh said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen also described the exercise as a routine one, but did mention the possibility that they could be used against enemies.
"The testing is not to show off our military muscle, but a normal military drill in order to be ready for defending our nation in case there is a foreign invasion," Hun Sen said.
He said Cambodia obtained the BM-21 vehicles in the early 1980s and used them several times while fighting against Khmer Rouge guerrillas, but had warehoused them since the insurgency ended in 1988.
"We wanted to see whether these rockets are still in good condition," Hun Sen said, denying that the tests had anything to do with the border disputes with Thailand, whose military is much larger and better trained and equipped.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the exercise was Cambodia's own domestic affair, and that Thailand had recently carried out similar activities. He said Thailand's military commanders didn't express any concern about the matter.
Relations between Cambodia and Thailand have been strained over the status of land around a historic temple along their border. The International Court of Justice in 1962 recognized the Preah Vihear temple as belonging to Cambodia, a decision only grudgingly accepted by Thailand and still challenged by Thai ultra-nationalists.
Thailand also was angered last year when Cambodia named fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser on economic affairs. The subsequent visit by Thaksin, and Cambodia's rejection of a formal request from Bangkok to extradite him, drew a negative reaction from Bangkok.
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