Military withdrawal depends on new gov’t: Thai army

BANGKOK, July 26 (Xinhua) — Second Army Region commander Lt Gen Tawatchai Samutsakorn said on Tuesday that the decision to pull Thai troops from the frontier now depends on the decision of the incoming government.

Now the troops from the 2nd Region Army which oversees northeastern region still remain at the Thai-Cambodian border, according to the commander.

Lt-Gen Tawatchai insisted that both Thai and Cambodian army will continue to coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation in order that some 100,000 residents along the border would not be affected.

Following the Cambodia’s application in late April for reinterpretation of the World Court’s 1962 ruling and provisional measure, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 18 ordered both countries to remove their troops from the disputed area.

Tensions have mounted between the two neighbors since 2008 when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization listed the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site, triggering sporadic clashes along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.