Thursday, 22 January 2009

Cambodia, Thailand to discuss border dispute during ASEAN summit

www.chinaview.cn
2009-01-21

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's border dispute with Thailand will be the focus of talks between Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart on the sidelines of next month's ASEAN summit, national media reported Wednesday.

The issue, however, is not on the agenda of the wider ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) talks and likely will not be raised by bloc members when they convene in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Feb. 27, Hun Sen was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post assaying.

He said that Cambodia would try to limit the effects of the conflict with Thailand, and expand cooperation with all neighboring countries.

"The dispute is in one place (Preah Vihear), so we should not expand it along our shared border," he said, adding that the dispute should not be allowed "to affect tourism, trade and the economy."

"Cambodia has no intention to take the Thai territory and will continue to be patient in resolving the issue bilaterally," Hun Sen said.

Tempers flared on the border after the Preah Vihear temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site last July, angering Thai nationalists who demanded that the then-government reclaim the territory that they claim was lost to Cambodia, including the 11th-century ruins and surrounding lands.

Cambodia and Thailand have never fully demarcated the 805-kilometer shared border.

Editor: Xiong Tong

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