The second-round meeting between Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers on the border dispute over the areas adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple opened Tuesday morning at a central resort town Cha-am in Thai central province Phetchburi.
The one-day meeting between Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong at a hotel in Cha-am, some 220 kilometers southwest of Bangkok and near the beach resort town Hua Hin, is aimed to find a peaceful solution to a long border dispute regarding a 4.6-sq-kilometer area around the 11th-century ruins of the Khmer-style Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, listed recently by UNESCO as a World Heritage, and to lay down foundations for future cooperation on demarcation and demining work along the disputed border.
The two foreign minister had their first talks on July 28 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, which produced no big breakthrough. As a result of the talks and a good gesture before the second meeting, however, the two sides did remove most of their military personnel, which have been quickly strengthened since mid-July to an estimated 1, 000 more from each side, along the disputed border around the temple since Saturday.
Tharit Charungvat, spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, said the atmosphere between the two ministers was good on Monday when they met and joined in a dinner, and that the situation has been improving a lot, as the tensions at the border have been eased as a result of the military "redeployment" following previous talks.
Tharit reiterated that territorial dispute is normal for any two neighboring countries, and that the situation for Thailand and Cambodia has now cooled down.
He said that Thailand hopes that Tuesday's meeting would turn out positive results, and "the situation will go back to normal as soon as possible", but he could not give the timetable for when the planned border demarcation work and complete military retreatment from the zone in question would start or finish.
The military stand-off, which has seen a quick increase of military personnel along the disputed border zone by each side, started after three Thais, including a monk, were briefly detained by Cambodian authorities on July 15 for "intruding Cambodian territory" by breaking into the Preah Vihear temple compound to declare Thai sovereignty over the temple.
The temple was awarded to Cambodia in a 1962 verdict of the International Court of Justice, which some Thais have been reluctant to accept. The dispute became a hot issue when Cambodia launched efforts to bid for the listing of the temple as a World Heritage Site last year.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee approved Cambodia's application early last month, triggering a wave of national sentiment in Thailand urging the Thai government to take counter actions in defense of territorial sovereignty.
Then Thai foreign minister Noppadon Pattama was forced to resign last month for signing a joint communique to endorse Thai support for Cambodia's World Heritage bid without prior parliament approval, which was later held unconstitutional.
Earlier Reports from Phnom Penh quoted Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong as saying before leaving for Thailand on Monday that he was optimistic about the second bilateral meeting "to seek peaceful resolution to withdraw the troops totally from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda and the surrounding areas of the Preah Vihear Temple."
Taking apart in Tuesday's meeting also include Lt. Gen Sujit Sithiparpa, Thailand's Second Army Commander who is responsible for security in the northeastern region including the disputed area, and his Cambodian counterpart Gen. Chea Mon, Cambodia's Fourth Army Commander.
The two countries were also more recently involved in a wrangle about the Ta Moan Thom temple, another site of ancient ruins along the Thai-Cambodian border over which both countries have claimed ownerships.
But officials said the Ta Moan Thom issue would not be discussed during the Cha-am meeting.
Source:Xinhua
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