Suthep: Preah Vihear dispute can't be raised at multilateral level

19/08/2010
(MCOT online News)

BANGKOK, Aug 19 - Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Thursday that the Preah Vihear dispute cannot be raised at a multilateral level without the mutual consent of the two neighbouring countries, Thailand and Cambodia.

The Thai deputy premier made the remarks following the Cambodian move seeking intervention by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to help resolve the border spat to avoid any large scale armed conflict.

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga was quoted as saying in a statement released on Tuesday that "As ASEAN chair, Vietnam is actively consulting other ASEAN countries about the proposal that ASEAN mediates over the Preah Vihear dispute."

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stood firm on Wednesday the border dispute could be solved at the bilateral level and that Thailand would affirm its stance if asked by ASEAN.

Mr Abhisit added that whether formal bilateral talks will be held or not depends on the situation and that Thailand adheres to the principle of a negotiation framework and process.

As Cambodia expressed dissatisfaction after learning that the agenda of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) was not raised at the current session of the Thai Parliament, Mr Suthep said a country should respect other country's internal affairs.

As Thailand would not intervene in Cambodia's domestic affairs, therefore it was not right for Cambodia to come to a boil over the case which is, he emphasised, Thailand's internal affair.

The Thai deputy premier added that the border dispute on contested 4.6 sq km area of land near the cliff-top temple by Thailand and Cambodia is a big issue and that time to resolve the problem is needed.

"If Cambodia wants to raise the dispute at the multilateral level, this cannot be done as mutual consent from both concerned countries is needed," said Mr Suthep. "I think that the dispute can be solved through talks between both countries."

Following local media reports quoted the ASEAN chief as saying he expected Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen to to meet and discuss the dispute on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), scheduled to be held in Brussels in October, Mr Suthep said he has no knowledge about the matter.

Mr Suthep however said Mr Surin might have directly contacted the Thai premier for the talks.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the 11th century temple belongs to Cambodia. UNESCO accorded its status as a World Heritage site in 2008 after Cambodia applied for the privilege while the border dispute remains unresolved.

Thailand made it clear that the country opposed an approval of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) on Phnom Penh's management plan on the temple, saying the plan includes the disputed area by the two countries. The WHC then on July 29 deferred the decision on the plan until it meets next year in Bahrain.