via Khmer NZ
Posted : Sun, 22 Aug 2010
By : dpa
Bangkok - Thailand is ready to discuss a border dispute over an ancient temple with Cambodia on the sidelines of an upcoming Asia-Europe summit, the prime minister said Sunday.
"I'm ready to talk with (Cambodian) Prime Minister Hun Sen concerning the Thai-Cambodian conflict over the Preah Vihear temple issue at the ASEM, scheduled for Brussels in October, " Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in his weekly television address to the nation Sunday.
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is a summit that has been meeting annually since 1996, alternately in Asian and European capitals.
Abhisit made clear that he would discuss the border dispute with Hun Sen at the sidelines of the summit. Thailand has thus far refused to accept outside intervention in the conflict, which sparked cross-border skirmishes in late 2008.
The 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, perched on a mountain-range that defines the two countries' common border, has been the source of territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia for decades.
The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but failed to pass judgement on land adjacent to the complex, giving rise to ongoing disputes.
In July 2008, UNESCO named Preah Vihear a World Heritage Site, despite objections from Thailand that the dispute is unresolved.
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