Cambodia-Thailand troops exchange fire

[Lankan Ranger]

Cambodia-Thailand troops exchange fire

Clash between Cambodian & Thai troops near the 11th century temple was still on at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and the Cambodian troops have arrested 5-6 Thai troops, said military sources.

"Now, we have arrested 5-6 Thai troops and some raised hands to defect," said a soldier standby at the area of Preah Vihear temple. "Thai side has asked us to do negotiation."

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told Xinhua through phone on Friday that "We have warned them not to enter our territory, but they still violated and entered, so we opened fire to defend our territory."

He added that heavy weapons including rockets, machine guns, mortars and artillery have been used in the exchange of fire.

"It's too early to report about the deaths and wounds in the clash," said Tea Banh.

The clash started at 3:15 p.m. on Friday afternoon as Thai bulldozers tried to clear the way at the border and enter Cambodia territory and Cambodian troops prevented them from moving into Cambodia at Beehive area in front of Preah Vihear temple, but they did not listen to, "so military clash happened to protect our territory," said the soldier.

The incident was the latest in a long-festering dispute over the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple.

The incident coincided with the visit of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Cambodia to attend the 7th meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation.

The re-tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the border happened on January 27 after Thailand asked Cambodia to remove a national flag over Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svarak pagoda near Preah Vihear temple, claiming that the pagoda is on the disputed area, but the Cambodian side rejected it.

Cambodia has the Preah Vihear temple enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had border conflict over the Thai claim of ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

Cambodia-Thai troops exchange fire

 

[Durrak]

The U.N. Security Council Monday called for a truce between Thailand and Cambodia and urged the two Asian nations to begin a dialogue to end their dispute over an ancient Hindu temple on the border.
The council issued its statement following a closed-door session on the conflict that included representatives from both sides and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"The members of the Security Council called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation," said the statement, read by Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil, which holds the monthly presidency of the 15-member body for February.
"The members of the Security Council further urged the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire and to implement it fully and resolve the situation peacefully and through effective dialogue," she said.
Border skirmishes, which started earlier this month, have killed five people, including members of the military and civilians, a statement from ASEAN said, adding that each nation accuses the other of firing first.
The clashes stem from a longstanding conflict related to the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple. The building sits on a cliff in Cambodian territory, but the most accessible entrance to the site is on the Thai side.
In a letter to the United Nations last week, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said that in addition to the human toll the fighting was taking, the temple had suffered damage.
Conflict over the Preah Vihear site has taken place periodically for years. In 1962, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled that the site was in Cambodia, adding that the structure was "an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture."
But Thailand says the 1.8-square-mile (4.7-square-kilometer) area around Preah Vihear was never fully demarcated, and blames a map drawn at the beginning of the 20th century during the French occupation of Cambodia.
In July 2008, the United Nations approved Cambodia's application to have the temple listed as a World Heritage Site, meaning the U.N. believes the place has outstanding universal value.
Monday's meeting followed a request by Cambodia for an emergency session of the Security Council. The council heard from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe and Marty Natalegawa, the minister of foreign affairs of Indonesia and chairman of ASEAN.
Hor Namhong, Cambodia's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, and Thailand's foreign affairs minister, Kasit Piromya, also addressed the council.
The council also expressed its support of ASEAN's efforts to bring the two sides together to find a solution. ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to discuss the conflict at their next meeting on February 22.