Army chiefs pursue peace talks
The country's military chief has met with his Cambodian counterpart after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border clash.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters yesterday that 'both sides should remain calm and discuss to see what we can agree' and called for peaceful discussion.
Her Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet wrote on Facebook that he hoped the meeting between the two army commanders 'will yield positive results'.
Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai earlier told journalists the talks were to be held in the afternoon yesterday, adding that there had been a 'misunderstanding by both sides'.
A Cambodian soldier was killed on Wednesday during an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, a Cambodian army spokesperson said.
His death – a rare fatality along the long-sensitive frontier – came after Cambodian and Thai leaders attended a South-East Asian summit where the regional Asean grouping vowed greater cooperation.
Thailand's military said on Wednesday that its soldiers fired in response to gunshots from Cambodia's border force, leading to an exchange lasting around 10 minutes before the Thai side said the Cambodians requested a ceasefire.
Cambodian Royal Army spokesperson Mao Phalla confirmed the clash on Wednesday but said Thai soldiers had attacked Cambodian troops who were on border patrol duty in northern Preah Vihear province.
'Our soldier died in the trenches. The Thais came to attack us,' Mao Phalla said.
Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over their more than 800km border, which was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina.
Yesterday, influential former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen – Hun Manet's father, and an ally of Paetongtarn's father, ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra – urged calm and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing border issues between the two countries.
Paetongtarn had earlier travelled to Cambodia last month for a two-day visit, during which she met Hun Manet to discuss cross-border cooperation on issues such as online scams and air pollution. — AFP
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