Thai, Cambodia urged to talk at US-ASEAN New York summit

NEW YORK, Sept 20 – Thai and Cambodian leaders should hold bilateral talks for their better understanding on the sidelines of the US-ASEAN summit to be held in New York on September 24 without the need of a mediator, Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said.

It is a good opportunity for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to hold bilateral talks with his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen to pave the way for solving problems in the future as both leaders have not talked for some time, Dr Surin said, adding that both leaders being interviewed by the media could lead to misunderstanding.

"The two leaders will have another opportunity to meet at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Belgium next month," he said. "They should take into consideration the two countries' major problem of unclear border demarcation and that technical measures should be laid out to settle the dispute. Technology [applied] and the [question of the] watershed can be negotiable."

Dr Surin added that the two neighbouring countries should talk and rely on each other while the framework of ASEAN [cooperation] supports negotiations but it also depends on the resolve of both sides.

He called on the two countries to first agree on a bilateral level.

The US-ASEAN meeting in New York reflects the American interest and determination to cooperate with ASEAN in trade, investment, energy, environment, global warming and worldwide cultural conflicts, Dr Surin said, pointing out that ASEAN could be a good role model for other countries containing an internal conflict within its own community.

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia regarding the border dispute flared up after the World Heritage Committee (WHC) registered the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site in 2008.

Cambodia attempted to propose a temple management plan to the WHC, but Thailand opposed the move as a problem of the contested 4.6 sq km of land near the temple remains unsolved, leading to several military clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border. (MCOT online news)