Cambodia and Thailand escalated their troop buildup yesterday at dispuory near a historic border temple despite their agreement to hold talks next week to defuse the tensions, a Cambodian general said.
Cambodian Brigadier General Chea Keo said the Thais now have more than 400 troops near the Preah Vihear temple, up from about 200 the day before, and Cambodia has about 800 troops there, up from 380 the day before.
Cambodia claims the Thai troops crossed the border into Cambodian territory on Tuesday in renewed tensions over land near Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple. Thailand maintains it is protecting its sovereignty and ensuring that any protests among Thais near the temple remain orderly, although a Thai military source has acknowledged the troops are on “disputed” ground.
The border around Preah Vihear has never been fully demarcated.
Despite the potential for a flare-up among the hundreds of armed troops, both sides gave assurances that conflict would be avoided and the atmosphere around the temple appeared relaxed.
Cambodian soldiers snapped photographs of their opponents just meters away and some tourists, including one US women, visited the spectacular site.
The long-standing conflict over the territory was revived by Thai anti-government protesters in recent weeks, coming to a head after UNESCO granted Cambodia’s application for World Heritage Site status for the temple last week with the endorsement of Thailand’s government.
Both countries claim 4.6km² around the temple, and the activists have revived nationalist sentiment over the issue, fearing the temple’s new status will jeopardize claims to the land nearby.
However, Thais living just across the border sought to calm the situation.
Hundreds of villagers in Sisaket Province blocked a group of Thai anti-government protesters from marching to Preah Vihear yesterday. Some shouted at the protesters to “go home” and stop causing trouble as police stood by a barricade blocking the road to the temple.
“We are Thais. We should be able to talk about this” to settle any differences, villager Ubondej Panthep said.
One protest leader, Pramoj Hoimook, said Cambodians have settled on Thai soil “and we want to correct that.”
“We want to get to Preah Vihear to read a statement, asking for our land back,” he said.
On Wednesday night, Cambodia said it agreed with Thailand to hold defense minister talks next Monday to ease tensions. Yesterday, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat confirmed the meeting.
Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Cambodia would not “use force unless attacked” and that the “situation was stable.”
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