Monday, February 7, 2011

In Cambodia and Thailand clashes continue

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called on Cambodia and Thailand return to the negotiating table to resolve their territorial dispute, while thousands of Thais have fled from the fighting that meet four days. The Chinese government urged Cambodia and Thailand to keep quiet to avoid an escalation of the conflict in a border area whose sovereignty is disputed both countries around the Preah Vihear temple, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

''Both Cambodia and Thailand are friendly neighbors of China and so we hope they can maintain calm and composure to resolve the dispute through consultation and avoid escalating the situation,''said Foreign Ministry spokesman China, Hong Lei . ASEAN to Thailand and Cambodia called back to the negotiating table as soon as possible and allow the group to help them agree on a halt to the fighting started last Friday in disputed territory near the Hindu temple.

According to the secretary general of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan, the deteriorating situation on the border between Thailand and Cambodia is undermining confidence and affecting economic recovery, tourism and investment prospects in the region. Due to clashes between the troops, thousands of Thais fled the Cambodian border, Bangkok Post newspaper reported on its website.

The governor of the Thai province of Si Sa Ket, Somsak Suwansujalit, said that about 15 thousand people have fled the area since the fighting began last Friday, have so far killed at least five dead and 30 wounded. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that the fighting threatening the stability of the region and asked the Security Council of the United Nations for an urgent meeting and sending peacekeepers to help end the fighting.

''We need the United Nations to send troops and create a buffer zone to ensure that no more fighting,''Hun Sen said during a graduation ceremony at a university in Phnom Penh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand has sent its own letter to the Security Council to formally protest the continued''unprovoked attacks by Cambodian troops.'' The fighting continues on Monday, two days after both countries agreed to a ceasefire in the second day of fighting near Preah Vihear, an eleventh century temple which is about a land of 4.6 square miles claimed by both countries.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been fully demarcated, and the issue of Preah Vihear temple has been a recurring motif of disputes. Cambodia-Thailand border dispute dragged on since July 2008 when the Organization of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the temple as a World Heritage Site in Cambodia.

Thailand admits that the temple is on Cambodian soil, as sentenced by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1962, but claims an area of 4.6 square kilometers located in the vicinity.

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