ASEAN's Surin Pitsuwan 'in listening mode' for Hun Sen meeting

via Khmer NZ

Posted : Mon, 16 Aug 2010
By : dpa

Phnom Penh - The secretary general of the Association of South-East Asian Nations said he is "in listening mode" for a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen later Monday at which the issue of Thai-Cambodian relations is expected to arise.

Speaking on the sidelines of a regional health workshop, Surin Pitsuwan told the German Press Agency dpa he was not certain the topic would be discussed.

"I can only surmise (that the issue will come up), because in the last few days that's what the government of Cambodia has been saying," Surin said.

He added that Hun Sen had recently sought a multilateral approach to resolving the long-standing border dispute around the temple of Preah Vihear on Cambodia's northern border with Thailand.

"I am taking the opportunity to listen, and to see what is expected of me, my office, which is constitutionally charged for this kind of thing," he said.

Cambodia and Thailand are at loggerheads over the Preah Vihear temple, which was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962.

Last week Hun Sen wrote to the United Nations asking it to intervene in the dispute after comments reported in the Thai press gave the impression that Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva had not ruled out a military solution to the dispute.

Bangkok later said Abhisit had been misquoted and his comments taken out of context.

Over the weekend Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong wrote to his ASEAN counterparts requesting that the 10-member regional bloc, of which both Cambodia and Thailand are members, get involved in resolving the issue.

Thai nationalists object to Cambodian ownership of Preah Vihear temple, and both sides claim a nearby area of land. The dispute has led to a build-up of troops and a number of firefights over the past two years that have left several soldiers dead.