PHNOM PENH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday morning said at a university in Phnom Penh that his country will not remove the Kingdom's flag flying over the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, because it is in Cambodia's territory.
Hun Sen, at the same time, stressed that Cambodia will seek to resolve the conflict between the two countries through diplomatic or military means.
"It is a large-scale armed conflict or can also call a small- scale border war," the premier said, adding that "the aim of the Thai side is very clear that is to occupy the 4.6 sq km of scrub land next to the Preah Vihear temple which they claimed."
The clashes between Cambodia and Thailand troops have already caused many seriously damages to the temple of Preah Vihear, a World Heritage, according to the report from Cambodian military stationed at the border area.
The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated and the issue of Preah Vihear temple has been an age-old dispute.
Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand have had border conflict due to Thai claim of the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.
| Editor: Zhang Xiang |
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