Cambodia Thailand Plan Border Talks for November 10

By BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

Cambodian and Thai officials will conduct another meeting to discuss the border conflict in order to avoid armed confrontation, according to Koy Kuong, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Kuong said the five-day official meeting would be arranged for 10-14 November. The Cambodia-Thai Joint Commission on Demarcation of the Land Boundary will continue to discuss measures to resolve the dispute.

“The meeting will be arranged by the Thai side, and will be held in Thailand,” Kuong told the Cambodia Weekly during a telephone interview on October 30. He continued, “I think that it marks a new phase of negotiations that will discuss solutions to both immediate and long-term problems. I hope that the upcoming meeting in Thailand will provide a positive result for both countries.”

Kuong said that for the Cambodian side, the meeting would be led by His Excellency Var Kimhong, Chairman of the National Committee for the Resolution of Border Disputes in the Council of Ministers.

Phay Siphan, Secretary of State and spokesman for the Council of Ministers, welcomed the go-ahead, as it demonstrated commitment to solve the border issue between the two sides.

“We welcome the official participation of the Thai side in the upcoming meeting. Our Cambodian side has made no changes to the position as indicated by the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two countries in 2000.”

He said that the meeting would focus on a border survey and demarcation based on the 2000 MoU and set up a temporary coordination working group to consider the disputed border areas. He added that the results of the assessment would be forwarded to a session of the Joint Border Commission.

Siphan said relations between Cambodia and Thailand had experienced difficulties since July when Preah Vihear was awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO.

He said that several rounds of bilateral talks between the two countries have failed to bring a full withdrawal of troops from their positions on the border. He added that the military standoff began July 15, when Thai troops occupied Keo Sikha Kirisvara pagoda located near the Preah Vihear temple, in Preah Vihear Province.

The Chairman said that the border talks would be based on the convention created between Siam and France in 1907 and on Siamese and Cambodian-held Indochina maps. He added that on October 29, Thai lawmakers had approved negotiations over the disputed borders at the root of the military standoff.

Approval of negotiations will pave the way for the next meeting, scheduled for November 10 between the two countries, said Kimhong.