Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to reduce their troops to the minimum level at and around the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda as well as in the vicinity of the Preah Vihear Temple in the eponymous Cambodian province, before the foreign ministers from both sides convene their second meeting on July 18 in Thailand to break the month-long bilateral military standoff, an official said here Thursday.
Both sides agreed Wednesday at the military officials' meeting in Surin province of Thailand to reduce the troops to the smallest number to avoid military confrontation at the border, said Neang Phat, secretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense and a senior member of the Cambodian-Thai Joint Border Committee.
The agreement was reached during the meeting between Lt. Gen. Suchit Sitthiprapa, Thailand's Second Army Commander responsible for security affairs in northeastern region, and the Cambodian delegation led by Neang Phat.
So far since July 15, both sides haven't pulled back their troops near the Preah Vihear Temple and at the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda in Preah Vihear province, as well as at the Tamone Toch and Tamone Thom temples in neighboring Otdar Meanchey province.
Bun Leng, Cambodian village chief at the Preah Vihear area, said that the soldiers from both sides are facing difficulties such as heavy rain at night and epidemic malaria.
"The heavy rain is pouring down everyday from evening to dawn," he added.
On July 15, Thai troops went into the border area to fetch three trespassers who had intended to claim Thai sovereignty over the Preah Vihear Temple. However, the troops stationed there ever since, thus triggering the military stalemate.
The same day, Thai troops occupied the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda, which is situated on the only way leading to the Preah Vihear Temple.
In the following days, both sides gradually increased their military personnel to a thousand strong at the border area to show their determination for territorial sovereignty.
On July 28, foreign ministers from Cambodia and Thailand held a meeting in Siem Reap province and agreed to mull the possibility of evacuating troops from the border.
On Aug. 3, Thai troops entered the Tamone Toch and Tamone Thom temples, thus aggravating the face-off.
The Preah Vihear Temple straddles the Cambodian-Thai border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice decided that the 11-century temple and the land around belongs to Cambodia, which rankled the Thais and has led to continuous disputes in late years.
Source:Xinhua
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