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| The gate at the Chong Jom border pass which separates Thailand’s Kap Choeng district from Cambodia’s O-Smach area remains locked yesterday with the O-Smach Resort standing in the background. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD |
3/05/2011
Wassana Nanuam and Thanida Tansubhapol
Bangkok Post
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Sunday night flew to Paris to meet three legal advisers from France, Canada and Australia to discuss Cambodia’s move.
Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon says he wants Thai-Cambodian border conflict talks to be held this month. Defence spokesman Col Thanathip Sawangsaeng said Gen Prawit was ready to meet his Cambodian counterpart on the condition that Cambodian soldiers stopped firing at Thai troops.
Gen Prawit had ordered the Thai military to contact Cambodian authorities to advance the bilateral General Border Committee meeting from June to this month as he wanted the panel to meet as soon as possible.
He said yesterday he had not yet arranged a meeting with Cambodian Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh as he wanted to ensure a truce was honoured.
“Now there is nothing to talk about. A truce must happen first. I believe there is a positive sign,” Gen Prawit said.
Lt Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, commander of the 2nd Army, who attended a meeting of the Internal Security Operations Command in Bangkok yesterday, said cross-border shellings by heavy artillery from both sides had stopped.
Although fighting with small firearms has continued, he believed peace would return to the border soon.
A military source said army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha had ordered army deputy chief-of-staff Sirichai Ditthakul, who heads the army outpost in Surin, and army assistant chief-of-staff Wilas Arunsri to closely monitor and assess the situation and work out a long-term border solutions.
The Thai defence minister said Gen Prawit had discussed the border problem with Chinese authorities during a visit to China last week. He denied Gen Prawit had lobbied China for support.
“Gen Prawit did not make any request for China to negotiate with Cambodia because China will not intervene in the affairs of other countries. China supports bilateral solutions,” Col Thanathip said.
He said Thailand and China agreed to continue with joint weapon development and large-scale military exercises.
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