Thai, Cambodian army chiefs meet over border clash
Military clashes between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted in 2008 and have led to several years of sporadic violence, resulting in at least 28 deaths.
Commmander General Pana Klaewplodthuk met with his Cambodian counterpart and both sides agreed to move troops away from the area, said Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree in a statement.
He added that a Joint Boundary Committee would meet in two weeks' time to "solve the problem of the border conflict".
A Cambodian soldier was killed on Wednesday during an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, a Cambodian army spokesman said.
His death -- a rare fatality along the long-sensitive frontier -- came after Cambodian and Thai leaders attended a Southeast Asian summit where the regional ASEAN grouping vowed greater cooperation.
Thailand's military said Wednesday that its soldiers fired in response to gunshots from Cambodia's border force.
The exchange lasted around 10 minutes before the Cambodians requested a ceasefire, the Thai military said.
Cambodian Royal Army spokesman 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.
Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told journalists Thursday that there had been a "misunderstanding by both sides".
'Remain calm'
Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over their more than 800-kilometre-long (500-mile) border, which was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina.
The 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to Preah Vihear, a 900-year-old temple near their shared border.
This led to several years of sporadic violence before the International Court of Justice ruled the disputed area belonged to Cambodia.
In February, Bangkok formally protested to Phnom Penh after a video of women singing a patriotic Khmer song in front of another disputed temple was posted on social media.
On Thursday, influential former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen urged calm and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing border issues between the two countries.
Hun Sen is the father of current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and a close ally of ex-Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the father of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Paetongtarn travelled to Cambodia in April 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.
On Thursday she called for peaceful discussion, saying "both sides should remain calm and discuss to see what we can agree".
Hun Manet wrote on Facebook that he hoped the meeting between the two army commanders would "yield positive results".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Euronews
Cambodia to take up border dispute with Thailand at ICJ
Cambodia has said it plans to seek a ruling from the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) over border disputes with Thailand, one of which triggered a fatal military clash last week. Cambodia's National Assembly, where Prime Minister Hun Manet's ruling Cambodian People's Party holds all but a handful of seats, voted on Monday to support the government's decision. In 1962, the ICJ awarded to Cambodia disputed territory on which a historic temple is located, a move that rankled Thailand and to this day remains a major irritant in bilateral relations. The ICJ reaffirmed that ruling in 2013. Speaking on Monday at a meeting of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Thailand's Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Cambodia has the right to file a case with the court, but that would not affect talks between the two countries under existing mechanisms. He said Thai officials will meet later this week to issue a clear stance on the matter. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who is also defence minister, said in a post on Facebook that both countries are working to resolve the crisis by avoiding further confrontations and violence. "I'd like to assure that we will avoid escalation of the conflict that would only result in losses for both sides in every aspect," he wrote. A border dispute near Morokot village in Cambodia's northwestern province of Preah Vihear on 28 May left one Cambodian soldier dead. It started when Cambodian troops were conducting a routine patrol along the border when the Thai side opened fire, according to Cambodian officials. The Thai army says that Cambodian soldiers entered a disputed patch of land and opened fire when Thai soldiers approached them to negotiate. Hun Manet in social media posts on Sunday said that his government will ask the court to rule on the demarcation of several disputed areas, including where the centuries-old Hindu-style Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch and Ta Kro Bei temples are located. In February, Cambodian troops and their family members entered the Ta Moan Thom temple in disputed territory and sang the Cambodian national anthem, leading to a brief argument with Thai forces. Following last week's incident, both sides called for calm and talks to ease their differences, while reserving the right to use military action to safeguard their sovereignty. On 29 May, the two countries' army commanders met to discuss how to avoid more clashes. On Monday, Hun Manet called for the two countries to have their Joint Border Commission continue the work of border demarcation, as well as having the ICJ take up the issue. He said his government would take the cases of the other disputed areas to the ICJ to determine ownership even if Thailand did not join in the appeal, in order "to end this problem and extinguish it once and for all so that there is no further confusion." "In particular, let's not fall for the incitement of a handful of extremist groups in Cambodia and Thailand, and let's not fall into the problem of confrontation by armed forces of the two countries," he said. Hun Manet's intention to appeal to The Hague-based court may touch a nerve in Thailand because the 1962 ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia is a touchstone issue for Thai nationalists and often comes up in domestic politics. Last year, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinatwatra's government was attacked on nationalist grounds for proposing to resume talks with Cambodia on demarcation of maritime territory believed to hold profitable hydrocarbon resources. In 2008, there were several deadly clashes between Cambodia and Thai forces at the Preah Vihear promontory, an area on which sits a 1,000-year-old temple that was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site the same year.
France 24
20 hours ago
- France 24
Cambodia says to file complaint with ICJ over Thai border dispute
"Cambodia hopes that the Thai side will agree with Cambodia to jointly bring these issues to the International Court of Justice... to prevent armed confrontation again over border uncertainty," Hun Manet said during a meeting between MPs and senators. Military clashes between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted in 2008 and have led to several years of sporadic violence, resulting in at least 28 deaths. The most recent occurred Wednesday, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a location known as the Emerald Triangle -- a joint border area between Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. The day after, Cambodia's foreign ministry sent a letter to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh demanding "an immediate and thorough investigation" into the "unprovoked attack". Describing the incident as "a violation of Cambodian sovereignty", Phnom Penh said it remained committed to resolving the issue through "peaceful and diplomatic avenues". Prime Minister Hun Manet said that even if the Thai side did not agree on bringing the issue to the ICJ, Cambodia would still file the complaint. He added that the border dispute was being "incited by small extremist groups in both countries", which could lead to further clashes. Thailand's ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP. Cambodia's military had said they were attacked first in Wednesday's incident, while the Thai side said their soldiers were responding to gunshots. The Thai and Cambodian militaries met the following day, agreeing to ease tensions. Thailand says a Joint Boundary Committee will meet in the next two weeks to resolve the issue. The Emerald Triangle is among the areas that will be named in the ICJ complaint, Hun Manet said. Another is Ta Moan Thom Temple, the backdrop for a video posted on social media earlier this year showing a woman singing a patriotic Khmer song which led to Bangkok lodging a formal protest to Phnom Penh. Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over their more than 800-kilometre-long (500-mile) border, which was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina. The 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to Preah Vihear Temple, a 900-year-old structure near their shared border.
LeMonde
2 days ago
- LeMonde
Myanmar junta extends ceasefire again after quake
Myanmar's junta has extended a post-earthquake truce, after the expiry of a previous humanitarian ceasefire it was accused of flouting with a continued campaign of air strikes. The junta initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a huge quake in late March killed nearly 3,800 people and left tens of thousands homeless. The truce has been extended before, although conflict monitors say fighting has continued, including regular air strikes. A statement from the junta information team on Saturday, May 31, said there would be an extension of the armistice, which expired May 31, until June 30. This would "facilitate rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in earthquake-affected areas," it said in the statement. It added that the state was "intensively engaging in reconstruction of damaged government offices and departments, public residences and transport facilities." The ceasefire would also allow the country to hold "a free and fair multi-party democracy general election," according to the statement. The country's junta chief said earlier this year that a long-promised election will be held by January, the first in the war-torn nation since the military staged a coup in 2021. In the statement, the military also warned it would still strike back against any offensives by the array of ethnic armed groups and anti-coup fighters. The announcement comes after Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan used a regional meeting last week to call for the extension and expansion of a ceasefire "beyond the currently affected zones." Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The bloc has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the junta deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
