Written by DAP NEWS -- Wednesday, 14 October 2009
(Post by CAAI News Media)
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has at the ASEAN Summit abandoned his proposed neutral border dispute resolution organization, paving the way to the resolution of border issues between the neighbors, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday.
Kasit’s denial came following a formal letter sent by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Monday to Kasit to request the border issue be included on the agenda for the upcoming ASEAN Summit Oct 23-25 in Hua Hin and Cha-am, Thailand.
The Cambodian FM rejected Kasit’s proposal to establish a neutral organization in the ASEAN summit to solve the border dispute.
However, Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Thani Thongpakdi has denied Kasit ever proposed an ASEAN dispute settlement mechanism to solve the standoff around Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple, according the Thai media on Tuesday.
“The minister might have been quoted out of context in media reports,” Thongpakdi was quoted by the Nation as saying. “The Thai government had reaffirmed its position that the border dispute must be solved bilaterally through the joint boundary commission.” Cambodian MFAIC spokesman Koy Kuong on Tuesday said the Ministry has not yet finalized an official statement about the latest development. “We has not answered yet for the above denial of Kasit as the Ministry has not received any formal clarified letter from the Thai party,” Koy Kuong told DAP News Cambodia.
Meanwhile, one of Thailand’s chiefs of the Joint Boundary Com-mission (JBC) has warned political groups in Thailand not to politicize the border issue for their benefit, since it could jeopardize the boundary demarcation with Cambodia.
“The border issue is very sensitive. It could be a powerful political tool if used for political purposes,” said Co-chair of the Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary Vasin Teeravechyan.
“It is dangerous to politicize the issue for personal interests,” he told a seminar at the Thai Foreign Ministry yesterday.
The issue has been politicized recently by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and its New Politics Party to gain support from nationalists to attack the government.
However, this movement has already received a stern warning from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
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