Sunday, 8 May 2011

Cambodia calls on ASEAN to mediate in border row with Thailand

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via CAAI

May 07, 2011 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) -- Jakarta, May 7, 2011 - Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padey Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia expressed concern over the ongoing border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, which, he believes, may not only affect peace and security in the region and also create serious challenges for ASEAN in the pursuit towards the ASEAN Community in 2015.

The Cambodian premier made the remark in his speech at the first plenary session with the topic of Implementation of the ASEAN Charter and Roadmap for ASEAN Community of the 18th ASEAN Summit held here Saturday.

"I am very concerned about the unsettled bilateral disputes among ASEAN member countries such as the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand", he said, expressing his belief that ASEAN should not ignore this serious issue.

The Cambodian Prime Minister laid stress that ASEAN must consider the dispute as the most important issue for the life of the community, in which ASEAN must establish a mediation mechanism for the effective settlement of the dispute.

In spite of the dispute, Samdech Techo Hun Sen expressed his pleasure at the significant progress made in the 14 prioritized areas in pursuing the building of the ASEAN Political-Secuirty Community.

"We recognize that the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia (TAC), the South East Asian Nuclear-free-zone Treaty (SEANFWZ), the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism are becoming more useful instruments to ensure regional security," the Cambodian premier noticed.

He urged the joint working group on the DOC to finalize the guideline for the implementation of DOC before 2012 in order to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the DOC. He also extended a welcome to Canada's proposal to be a member of the TAC and to East Timor's application to join ASEAN as a member country.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse email, Phnom Penh, in English 0000 gmt 7 May 11

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