Bangkok, Phnom Penh Committed To Peaceful Settlement Of Conflict - Dr Marty

8 Feb, 2011
By Jamaluddin Muhammad

BANGKOK, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Thailand and Cambodia have an overwhelming desire and commitment to settle peacefully their conflict over a disputed 11th century Hindu temple, Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty M. Natalegawa said here Tuesday.

Dr Marty, who met with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in Phnom Penh Monday and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya here Tuesday, said the two nations wanted to resolve the issue, which flared up into clashes between their troops over four days since Friday, through dialogue and negotiation.

"The messages coming from Bangkok and Phnom Penh about this matter are crystal clear," he told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with Kasit at the latter's office here.

Indonesia is the current chairman of Asean, a grouping of 10 Southeast Asian countries of which Thailand and Cambodia are also members.

The latest clashes, which resulted in two Thais, one of them a civilian, killed and 25 Thai soldiers injured, was concentrated mainly in the disputed border area of 4.6 sq km where the Temple of Preah Vihear is located.

Both countries lay claim to the area, including that part which leads to the temple's entrance and its surroundings. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple is located in Cambodia, and Unesco listed the temple as a World Heritage Site in 2008.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh pointed the finger at each other for firing the first shot of the recent clashes which saw the use of heavy weapons including rockets, mortars and machine guns.

Dr Marty said both Bangkok and Phnom Penh were committed to ensuring that the situation stabilised.

"The ceasefire attempted by both sides should be made more stable and consistent," he said.

Asean and Indonesia, he said, were happy to be included in the consistent ceasefire negotiation.

Dr Marty said bilateral, regional and global approaches could be made as a complementary effort in resolving the conflict.

"In the final analysis, the issue can be and must be addressed bilaterally as it involves a border issue," he said.

However, there was always some space for Asean or any individual country to support the bilateral approach in settling the issue, he added.

"Any engagement by Asean or by any individual country is not to replace the bilateral approach but, on the contrary, to support the bilateral approach," he said.

Bangkok stated Monday that it preferred to settle the issue bilaterally while news reports from Phnom Penh mentioned that the latter opted for United Nations' intervention.

Phnom Penh has also reportedly asked the world body to station peacekeepers at a buffer zone in order to avert further clashes. Troops from both sides last clashed Monday morning, and no fresh skirmish has been reported since.

-- BERNAMA