Monday, February 21, 2011

Thai PM: ASEAN not to Interfere with Thai-Cambodian Dispute

2011-02-20
Source: Xinhua

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday said ASEAN will not interfere with any substance of negotiation between Thailand and Cambodia on their border dispute.

“I would like to stress that the position of ASEAN, as we have been following, is it will not interfere with any substance that we will talk to Cambodia,” Abhisit said in his weekly national televised address.

The premier said the United Nations Security Council, which met on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute last Monday, was of the view that the two countries should talk to each other with ASEAN, or the Association of South East Asian Nations, acting as the facilitator or coordinator.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as the current ASEAN chair, has called a meeting of the regional grouping’s foreign ministers on Feb. 22 in Jakarta to discuss the issue.

Abhisit has repeatedly said that the border dispute was a bilateral issue and should be solved through the existing mechanism between the two nations.

The premier also said UNESCO now seemed to share Thailand’s view that the organization should not proceed with any decision on the administering plan of a disputed 4.6-square-kilometer area around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple as Thailand and Cambodia both claim sovereignty over the area.

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