10 Thai troops injured in Surin after 'light weapons' clashes on border

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By The Nation on Sunday
Surin
Published on May 1, 2011

Flare-up triggered by delay in informing units of ceasefire

Ten more Thai soldiers were injured in the Thai-Cambodian border clashes in Surin's Phanom Dongrak district on Friday night until yesterday morning, bringing the cumulative Thai casualties to seven deaths and 95 injuries in the nine days of clashes.

Among the four injured soldiers from Friday night's clash, First-Lieutenant Kosit Songsaengkajorn suffered severe shrapnel wounds to his neck and back and was transferred to Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok, while others were airlifted to the Surin Centre Hospital and Weerawat Yothin Army Camp Hospital the same night. Six other soldiers were injured on Saturday morning.

The border clash reoccurred despite the fact that a ceasefire was agreed by Thai and Cambodian field commanders.

Second Army spokesman Prawit Hookaew said that the Cambodian side explained that it was because "some units weren't yet informed [of the ceasefire]" and "there were some rogue soldiers".

He also declared a hint of a silver lining in that the reoccurring clashes so far utilised light weapons only.

This showed that field officers could still talk to each other and limit the fighting.

Since Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen declared that he wouldn't negotiate at all levels and would only table the issue at the Asean level - and announced that Cambodia was ready to go to war against Thailand - the Thai Army has remained cautious and was following the situation closely, he said.

Prawit also revealed that Cambodia had sent more backups to the clash area and reportedly recruited more fighters, especially former Khmer Rouge soldiers and their children.

"We haven't yet sent more back-up soldiers, [but] it wouldn't take a long time to send back-ups because most of the manpower are already in the Second Army area. We're using force only to defence our territory," he said adding that 36 out of the injured 95 soldiers already asked to be reinstated in the field.

Thai Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd commented that the Cambodian side admitted that there might be some stress in the areas that the ceasefire order haven't reached yet - hence the fighting wasn't completely halted.

But gunfire erupted lightly on and off and Thai troops just counter-fired. He said they would try to get the ceasefire in place first before negotiations at other levels could take place.

Meanwhile, the Second Army Area bomb squad had cleared some 70 per cent of the grenades fired from Cambodia to Thai villages.

As several schools in Surin were currently functioning as shelters to villagers, the Education Ministry inspector Supakorn Wongprat said he would initially arrange a Bt500,000 budget allocation to help these schools with water, electricity and other expenses. He said he would also have non-formal education teachers teach students at the shelters so the students could later catch up with their lessons, as the school term will open in mid-May.

In Buri Ram, some male evacuees yesterday returned to their homes near the clash site in hopes that the border fighting would stop soon, bringing the number of evacuees in nine shelters of Ban Kruat and Prakhon Chai districts down from 9,000 to some 4,000.

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Intensity of fighting on border eases

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ARMY ENCOURAGED, BUT CLASHES CONTINUE

Published: 1/05/2011 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

The military believes the situation on the Thai-Cambodian border is improving despite fighting continuing on the border near Surin for a ninth day.

Second Army Region spokesman Prawit Hookaew said that although the clashes have not yet ended, encouragement can be taken from the fact that the exchanges of gunfire have lessened in intensity and heavy weapons have not been deployed in the past few days.

He said only small and mortar guns have been used since military delegations from both sides held talks on Thursday.

In the latest skirmishes, two Thai soldiers were injured yesterday afternoon near Ta Kwai temple in the border area of Surin.

Fighting on Friday night and yesterday left 11 Thai soldiers wounded, bringing the total injury toll for Thai soldiers to 97, while seven soldiers and one civilian have been killed.

According to the Second Army, two Cambodian BM21 multiple rocket launchers were destroyed and a number of their soldiers were killed during the clashes.

Col Prawit said that Thailand contacted Cambodia after the latest skirmishes broke out and was told that some troops were not following orders.

"They promise to look into this to avoid further incidents," said Col Prawit.

It is reported that troops under Special Force 911 and a number of those who are not under the control of Lt Gen Chea Mon refused to hold fire.

Special Force 911 is a highly trained armed unit under the command of army deputy commander Hun Manet, son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Col Prawit said he had heard a report of Cambodia recruiting more troops and urging those who are relatives of former Khmer Rouge guerrillas to join the army.

Thai military spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday the overall situation is considered to be "improving" despite the continued fighting.

"At first there were rocket-propelled grenades and artillery shelling for hours. Now it is just sporadic fighting with small guns," he said.

He maintained the stance that a complete ceasefire must be sustained before further talks can proceed.

A border source said that Lt Gen Hun Manet has offered a house and a five-rai plot of land to those who join the Cambodian effort.

The recruitment drive was announced in the Cambodian areas of Samrong, Anlong Veng, Oddar Meanchey and O-Smach, which were once controlled by Khmer Rouge guerrillas.

The source said that more than 100 Cambodian troops with close links to former Khmer Rouge guerrillas have fled those areas.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said the government has formed a three-man team to counter Cambodia's petition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the border dispute around Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodia said it was seeking the ICJ's interpretation "in order to peacefully and definitely settle the boundary problem between the two countries".

Mr Chavanond said it would be some time before the ICJ decides whether or not to accept Cambodia's petition.

The 5th national blood centre in Nakhon Ratchasima is in short supply of blood and is pleading for donations.

Staff member Sirilak Piakkhunthod said the centre faces a severe shortage because the national blood centre in Bangkok has sent its supply to Surin.

Surin Hospital has needed 60-80 bags of blood per day since the border clashes erupted.

Ms Sirilak said the centre usually receives 60 bags of blood daily from Bangkok but is currently receiving only 10 bags a day.

The 5th national blood centre supplies blood to hospitals in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Buri Ram and Surin provinces.

In Buri Ram, a large number of border villagers who were evacuated after the fighting erupted returned home during the day to tend to their farms.

During the day, about 4,000 evacuees were left at the centre, most of them women, children and the elderly.

More than 9,000 residents from Ban Kruat and Prakhon Chai districts sought shelter at nine temporary centres when the clashes broke out on April 22.

District authorities said yesterday the shelters would remain open until the last evacuee returned home.

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Thai biz in Cambodia not suffered from border clashes

http://www.pattayamail.com/

Sunday, 01 May 2011

By NNT

BANGKOK, 30 April 2011 – The majority of Thai businesspeople in Cambodia have not been affected by the Thai-Cambodian border clashes, according to the Minister of Commerce.

Ms Pornthiva Nakasai said she had checked with the Thai commercial counselor attached to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh and found that Thai business activities were carrying on normally despite a series of artillery exchanges at the Thai-Cambodian border.

According to the minister, most of the Thai businesses in the neighboring country are located opposite the northeastern Thai provinces of Sa Kaeo and Trat while the clashes usually take place in Surin and Buri Ram.

Nevertheless, Ms Pornthiva has assigned the commercial counselor to monitor the situation very closely in order to make ready assistance for the private sector once it is requested.

The minister also asked the provincial offices of Internal Trade and Commerce in Surin, Si Sa Ket and nearby provinces to see to it that there would be no profiteering in the areas during such an unusual situation. She said profiteers could face a prison term of up to seven months and/or a fine of not more than 140,000 baht.

Ms Pornthiva added that the ASEAN Economic Community establishment in 2015 should not get affected from the Thai-Cambodian border clashes.

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New clashes on disputed border despite ceasefire

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30/04/2011

After two ceasefires in two days and attempts to reach agreement over two ancient temples on the disputed jungle frontier, Thai and Cambodian troops clashed again on Saturday in the ninth day of the countries' bloodiest conflict in decades. By News Wires (text) AFP - Sporadic clashes broke out on the tense Thai-Cambodian border Saturday, both sides said, casting doubt on peace efforts as the countries' bloodiest conflict in decades stretched into a ninth day.

The latest hostilities at two ancient temples on the disputed jungle frontier erupted just hours after Cambodia announced a second truce agreement in as many days, although Bangkok denied knowledge of a new deal.

"Even though there is a recent ceasefire agreement... Thailand still breached it," Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh.

"There were exchange of firing last night and this morning," he said. "It shows that we cannot trust our counterpart."

Thai army sources also confirmed early morning clashes.

Thailand said Friday's peace talks between commanders from both sides did not amount to a genuine breakthrough in a dispute that has left 16 people dead and displaced more than 85,000 civilians.

"We actually have talked at local officers' level which I hope will lead to a real ceasefire," said Thailand's government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

Seven Thai troops and eight Cambodian soldiers have died since the clashes began on April 22, and Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.

Hor Namhong returned Saturday from The Hague where he had submitted a request to the World Court to clarify a 1962 ruling about land around the ancient Preah Vihear temple -- an area that has inflamed tensions between the two neighbours.

"The request for the interpretation by the court is a way to resolve the problem peacefully," he said at Phnom Penh airport.

The court ruled more than four decades ago that the 900-year-old temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area.

Thailand said it had hired legal advisors and would fight the case.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110430-cambodia-thailand-new-clashes-on-disputed-border-despite-ceasefire

The stone structure has been the focus of border tensions since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008 and 10 people died in hostilities between the neighbours there in February.

The current unrest is centred around two other contested temple complexes 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Preah Vihear, although there was some fighting at the site itself on Tuesday.

The Thai-Cambodian frontier has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from years of war in Cambodia.

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Call for Government to ‘Step Down’ Over Border

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 28 April 2011

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Photo: AP

A military vehicle with a mounted grenade launcher makes its way during clashes between Thai and Cambodia in Surin province, northeastern Thailand, Thursday, April 28, 2011. Thai and Cambodian military commanders agreed to a cease-fire Thursday after seven days of artillery duels killed at least 15 people, Cambodia said. Thailand did not immediately confirm it, but the contested border was quiet most of the day.

“...this government must step down to allow Cambodia to avoid wars and losing land to the west and to the east.”

Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy issued on open letter Wednesday demanding that the administration of Prime Minister Hun Sen step down over his handling of the border conflict with Thailand.

If the government cannot peacefully resolve the border issue, he wrote, “this government must step down to allow Cambodia to avoid wars and losing land to the west and to the east.”

His letter came amid continued fighting on Wednesday and ahead of a reported ceasefire between Thai and Cambodian generals on the border Thursday.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan called the letter a “desire for attention” that ignored positive surveys that say many believe the country is moving in the right direction.

“Even though he does not have the support of the public, who are the Cambodian people, he still confronts [the prime minister],” Phay Siphan said.

The government is pursuing strategies to solve the border conflict with Thailand, he said, and the government is working with Vietnam to shore up border areas peacefully.

Sam Rainsy claims the government is ignoring the Paris peace agreement, which ensures Cambodia’s territorial sovereignty.

Sam Rainsy said his uprooting of markers along the Vietnamese border in 2009 was a victory. He is facing 12 years in prison sentences of a variety of charges stemming from his accusations that Cambodia has ceded land to Vietnam.

Both Vietnam and Thailand claim they have not encroached on Cambodian land.

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Heavy losses give Cambodia good reason to cry (ONLY ABHISHIT's GOVERNMENT SHOW NO TEAR WHEN THAI PEOPLES ARE DIE DURING THE FIGHTING ..SHAME ON YOU Ab

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Published: 29/04/2011

Newspaper section: News

Cambodian defence spokesman Chhum Socheat did not shed crocodile tears to win sympathy from the world when he talked to reporters during a recent press conference on the Thai-Cambodia border clashes.

It could be true that heavy losses suffered by Cambodia during the border clashes with Thailand brought him to tears, and not the heart-wrenching drama in the Thai soap opera Dok Som Si Thong, as army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd suggested. Col Sansern earlier said that Lt Gen Chhum Socheat might have been a bit too impressed by Reya, a popular and artificial female character in the Channel 3 soap opera, which can be seen in Cambodia.

A highly placed military source said that when Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon telephoned Gen Tea Banh to discuss the prospects of a ceasefire after the clashes had entered a second day, his Cambodian counterpart turned down the peace overtures.

Gen Tea Banh told Gen Prawit that Cambodian soldiers were met with too much of a ''heavy-handed'' response from Thai troops and that a ceasefire was still not possible, the source said.

''A lot of Cambodian soldiers have died. They suffered heavy losses.

''But they started the fight and Thai soldiers had to retaliate,'' 2nd Army chief Thawatchai Samutsakhon said.

''If they shell us, Thai troops will retaliate by launching even heavier shelling,'' Lt Gen Thawatchai said.

Border military sources have said that if the Cambodian side fires one artillery shell, Thai troops will retaliate with around five shells. ''We launch about 200-300 artillery shells each day [during the fighting],'' a source said.

During the past two months, since the Feb 4-7 clashes with Cambodia in Phu Makhua, near Preah Vihear, Thai troops have amassed plenty of artillery shells, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), and radars in the area.

Gen Prawit, while on a visit to China this week, will hold talks to buy additional 130mm MRL systems and radars from China at a cost of 1.2 billion baht.

After heavy retaliatory shelling on April 26, a day of few skirmishes, Thai troops spotted Cambodians collecting a number of bodies of their dead colleagues.

Cambodia reported that eight of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday.

Cambodian army deputy commander Hun Manet, son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, has reportedly moved back from his headquarters at O Smach opposite the Chong Jom border checkpoint in Surin's Kap Choeng district to 20 kilometres inland from the scene of the clashes.

Since the latest spate of fighting erupted, Cambodia suffered its worst losses during a battle near the Kap Choeng border on April 24 and 25, the source said. A deputy commander of Cambodia's Brigade 42, who was the son of a former Khmer Rouge military leader, was among those killed in the clashes, said a Thai intelligence report.

Cambodia and Cambodian soldiers have been dragged into a conflict not of their own choosing. Hun Sen wields complete control over them and he has already made the choice on their behalf, a Thai soldier said.

Thailand and Cambodia yesterday agreed to a ceasefire after one week of border clashes.

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Suthep slates foreigners' Thai analysis

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Published: 29/04/2011
Newspaper section: News

The government has no intention whatsoever of using the Thai-Cambodian border conflict for political gain, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday.

Mr Suthep, who is in charge of security affairs, dismissed criticism by foreign analysts that the government might be using the border conflict with Cambodia to tout its political credentials.

Suthep: No gains politically

Since the latest border spat erupted last Friday, foreign media outlets have offered wide-ranging analytical comment on the cause of the fighting.

US magazine Time interviewed a public policy analyst who said the Thai army was using the security dispute to attract attention, command influence and seek a prominent role in politics.

Duncan McCargo, professor of Southeast Asian politics at the University of Leeds in England, suggested in The Independent broadsheet newspaper that the border dispute was essentially the result of an ongoing struggle between Thailand's military, the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.

The Foreign Ministry has been telling the world community that Cambodia started the border clash, Mr Suthep said. Thailand is not trying to woo support from other countries and is only seeking to explain the border situation, the deputy premier added.

He said Thai armed forces would vigorously defend the nation's sovereignty and that the country's defence and foreign ministers were handling issues with Cambodia in the same direction and they were not at odds with each other.

Meanwhile, the United States has urged Thailand and Cambodia to exert control and settle their border conflict peacefully through negotiations.

Kristie Kenney, US ambassador to Thailand, yesterday had a meeting with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House.

She encouraged Thailand and Cambodia to resume talks to resolve the border dispute peacefully.

Mrs Kenney said after the meeting that the United States wanted Thailand and Cambodia to return to the negotiating table and that the mechanisms within Asean might be helpful in resolving the standoff.

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Wary truce at Thai-Cambodian border

Cambodian soldiers stand guard near the Cambodia-Thailand border in Oddar Meanchey province on April 28, 2011. Hopes of an imminent ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia faded on April 27, after Bangkok pulled out of talks with its neighbour and deadly border clashes entered a sixth day.Photograph by: Stringer, AFP/Getty Images

April 28, 2011
Agence France-Presse

SAMRONG, Cambodia - A fragile ceasefire halted the bloodiest clashes between Thailand and Cambodia in decades on Thursday, after seven days of fighting left 15 dead and around 75,000 civilians displaced.

Both sides remained cautious after local-level military negotiations produced an agreement to end hostilities around temple complexes deep in the jungle on their shared border.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the deal was a "good sign", but added that Cambodian troops in the area had been reinforced.

"We have to wait and see whether real peace has been achieved," he told reporters.

The country's powerful army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha said both sides would monitor the situation.

"If there is no clash before tomorrow morning the situation will be positively resolved," he said.

Cambodia, which was the first to announce a halt to fighting earlier Thursday, also struck a note of caution about the permanence of the agreement.

"The situation remains quiet for now," Cambodian field commander Suos Socheat told AFP.

"But our troops are still on alert because we don't trust them yet," he said.

The Cambodian defence ministry said in a statement that the commanders had agreed at the talks to reopen a border gate and "create a climate to allow civilians to return home".

Both countries have blamed each other for sparking the violence.

One Thai soldier died on Thursday morning, bringing the total number of the country's troops killed since the fighting began last Friday to six, while eight have died on the Cambodian side.

Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.

Heavy weapons fire has also strayed towards villages around the frontier, causing an estimated 45,000 people in Thailand and 30,000 in Cambodia to flee their homes.

The neighbours traded accusations during the conflict, including Cambodian claims that Thailand used spy planes and poison gas — an allegation denied by Bangkok.

The countries had come under increasing international pressure to stop the violence.

Talks had previously been due to take place in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, but were called off at the last minute by Thailand's defence minister.

On Thursday Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was in Jakarta, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, for talks with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa. ASEAN had also urged the pair to reach a ceasefire.

The neighbours agreed to allow observers from Indonesia into the border area after a previous round of unrest in February. But the Thai military later said the monitors were not welcome and they were not deployed.

Following Thursday's meeting in Jakarta, Kasit said details of the mission had been provisionally agreed, with the caveat that Cambodian troops must withdraw from the disputed area first.

Asked how long the monitors would stay along both sides of the border, he said: "About six months, but I hope it will not have to be that long if peace returns."

The Thai-Cambodian border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from years of war in Cambodia.

On Tuesday the fighting briefly spread to the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which has been the focus of strained relations between the neighbours since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre surrounding area.

In February, 10 people were killed near Preah Vihear, which is 150 kilometres east of the two ancient temple complexes at the centre of the latest clashes.

The border clash came at a sensitive political time for Thailand, with the country's premier preparing to dissolve the lower house of parliament for elections he has said will be held by early July.

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Cambodian, Thai military commanders promise ceasefire

PHNOM PENH, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian and Thai military commanders concluded a 40-minute meeting here on Thursday morning and promised a ceasefire after seven straight days of armed clashes between the two countries' troops over the border disputed areas since Friday last week.

The meeting was held at 10:50 a.m. at the O'smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province between Cambodian Major General Chea Mon, commander of Military Region 4 and Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn, commander of Thai Army Region 2.

Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Office of the Council of Ministers of Cambodia said following a meeting that lasted about 45 minutes on Thursday, both agreed to an unconditional ceasefire and encouraged both sides to meet regularly to ease tension.

They also agreed to reopen the two countries' border pass that has been affected by the fighting and encouraged villagers who have fled their hometowns to return, he said.

"After the meeting, the two sides agreed that there will not be allowed to have renewed fighting and if there is any important issue between the two sides, they promise to meet and solve peacefully," a Cambodian military source, who asked not to be named, said on Thursday after the meeting.

The talks are made after the seven straight days of gunfire exchanges between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border areas at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province.

The fighting, however, was stopped after 8:30 am on Thursday, according to Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman of the Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense.

But the last six days of clashes have killed eight Cambodian and six Thai soldiers, and one Thai civilian, and several dozens injured, and forced tens of thousands of the two countries' people to flee home for safe shelters.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple.

Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, 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.

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US urges Thailand, Cambodia to exercise restraint in resolving conflict

BANGKOK, April 28 (MCOT online news) – The United States has urged Thailand and Cambodia to act with restraint in resolving the border dispute through peaceful means and negotiation.

US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Anne Kenney met Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House on Thursday morning.

She said after the meeting that the US will not intervene as the two countries are obliged to hold bilateral talks. The dispute can be handled by existing mechanisms facilitated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The US envoy also called for the two countries to return to the negotiation table.

Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said before leaving to attend the 5th Asean Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council Meeting in Indonesia on Thursday that Thailand still adheres to proactive diplomatic approaches in responding to Cambodia.

Mr Kasit was due to meet Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa as Indonesia is ASEAN chair to discuss Thai-Cambodian dispute and progress in drafting agreement on a plan to station Indonesian observers at Thai-Cambodian border.

The Thai foreign minister will also meet Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan.

In other developments, th

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Thai-Cambodia artillery duels continue for 7th day as death toll rises to 15

Thursday, April 28, 2011
By Thanyarat Doksone
The Associated Press

PHANOM DONGRAK, Thailand — Artillery fire boomed across the Thai-Cambodian frontier for a seventh day Thursday as fierce border clashes erupted again between the two neighbours and the death toll rose to 15.

Loud explosions could be heard since dawn in Phanom Dongrak, a village about 12 miles (20 kilometres) from the border, an Associated Press reporter said.

In Cambodia, field commander Col. Suos Sothea said the fighting was centring again around the ruins of two crumbling stone temples from the Khmer Empire at Ta Moan and Ta Krabey, which have been caught in crossfire since last Friday.

The body of a Thai soldier who died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack was loaded into a helicopter at a hospital in Phanom Dongrak, which was busy with wounded Thai soldiers arriving from the front.

The soldier's death brought to 15 the number of dead in the latest wave of fighting, which has forced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides to flee their homes.

The border dispute has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides, but analysts say domestic politics may also be fueling the conflict, especially in Thailand, where the military that staged a coup in 2006 could be flexing its muscles ahead of elections due in June or July.

On Wednesday, Cambodian leader Hun Sen accused Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of loving war and provoking the conflict, but said he still wants to talk peace with him at an upcoming regional meeting in Indonesia.

Cambodia employed truck-mounted rocket launchers for the first time Tuesday, in what Hun Sen said was retaliation for Thailand's use of heavy weapons.

Abhisit, meanwhile, said his government is not willing to have a meeting of the two countries' defence ministers unless there is a cease-fire first.

"If they want to talk, the easiest way is to stop the firing," Abhisit told Parliament after visiting injured civilians in Surin province in the northeast.

The conflict involves small swaths of land along the border that have been disputed for more than half a century. Fierce clashes have broken out several times since 2008, when Cambodia's 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status over Thailand's objections.

Talks with Cambodia have apparently become a divisive issue within the Thai government, with the military dragging its feet while Abhisit takes a more conciliatory position.

The Thai army has already stymied a plan to station Indonesian military observers along the border. Hun Sen said Wednesday that Cambodia would welcome them on its side of the border regardless of any delays by Thailand.

Indonesia, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, offered to provide the observers after four days of border fighting in February.

___

Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.

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Thailand, Cambodia armies agree to ceasefire

04/28/2011
REUTERS

PHNOM PENH - Thailand and Cambodia's armies have agreed to a ceasefire to end seven days of bloody clashes along their disputed border following a meeting of field commanders, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

Both sides had agreed to allow one border point to open to allow displaced people to return to their homes and villagers to return, Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said.

"We will abide by the ceasefire from now on and local commanders will meet regularly to avoid misunderstanding," he said.

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7th day of Cambodian, Thai fighting still going on: Cambodian gov't

April 28, 2011
Xinhua

Gunfire exchanges between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border area at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province is still going on until 8 a.m. Thursday morning, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The statement said that throughout Wednesday's night, Thai troops have fired artillery shelling on Cambodian troops' positions at Ta Mon temple and Ta Krabei temple and at 3:55 a.m. ( local time) early Thursday morning, Thai troops have increased their artillery shelling onto the two temple areas, and spread to the base of Cambodian Royal Armed Force in the west of O'smach area.

"The fighting still continues until 8 a.m. (local time) today," it said. "And our soldiers are still in firm and full control of the Temple of Ta Moan and the Temple of Ta Krabei."

Immediate report on casualties in Thursday's fighting is not available yet.

The fighting marks the seventh straight days of armed clashes between the two countries' troops.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed on Wednesday for truce talks, saying that the border conflict at Ta Moan temple, Ta Krabei temple and areas could be bilaterally negotiated, except border disputed area near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, which need the presence of the third party.

The last six days of clashes has killed eight Cambodian soldiers, five Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian, caused several dozens injured, and forced tens of thousands of the two countries' people flee home for safe shelters.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated. Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple.

Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, 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.

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Fighting intensifies on Thai Cambodian border

April 28, 2011
ABC Radio Australia

The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is getting worse.

Fourteen people have died in six days of fighting and there's no end in sight to the conflict. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for a truce but has no plans to meet with his Thai counterpart until May. Both sides accuse the other of aggression in the long running dispute.

Reporter: Karon Snowdon

Speaker: Panitan Wattanayagorn, Thai government spokesman; Phay Siphan, Cambodian government spokesman

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

SNOWDON: In the latest violence, one civilian and a total of 13 troops from both sides have been killed with 60 soldiers wounded. Thirty thousand villages have been evacuated, according to reports. Defence ministers were to meet on Wednesday but even that is disputed.

Cambodia says the Thai Defence Minister asked for the meeting, Thailand's government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says the meeting is desirable but not possible on the day.

PANITAN: We accepted the invitation in principle but our Defence Minister is scheduled to go to the People's Republic of China many weeks ago and he can't change his schedule and he's on his way now. We hope that in the near future we can reschedule this meeting with the Defence Minister of Cambodia.

SNOWDON: How urgent is that meeting do you think?

PANITAN: The meeting is urgent of course. We would like to meet our Cambodian counterpart as soon as possible.

SNOWDON: The two South East Asian neighbours have been in conflict over the precise position of their border for years. It usually implicates the ancient Prear Vihear temple complex which sits on the border and which the International Court of Justice recognised as within Cambodia in 1962. The latest artillery battles centred around two other temples to the west.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for an immediate truce and says he hopes to meet with his Thai counterpart at an ASEAN summit in Jakarta on May the 7th and 8th.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan says Cambodia has been invaded.

PHAY SIPHAN: We don't have any mechanism to talk because this is an invasion by Thai people I mean by Thai soldiers. If Thai soldiers want a ceasefire they shouldn't invade Cambodia. Because we are inside Cambodia, we have a right to self defence and to protect of our territory.

SNOWDON: This has been going on for about six days now. What started this latest outbreak of hostilities?

PHAY SIPHAN: Well I mean the frontline is still tense, we are just protecting ourselves.

SNOWDON: Prime Minister Hun Sen is hoping to meet with the Thai Prime Minister at the ASEAN meeting in Jakarta in May, is that confirmed? Has the Thai side agreed to a meeting, then?

PHAY SIPHAN: I have no idea. But we wish to have peace and a ceasefire permanently down there. And we believe the issue of boundary should be left to a joint border committee to solve that problem, not use military language to solve that problem.

PANITAN: We wouldn't have any trouble if Cambodia stops firing at us first . We only defend ourselves, we didn't initiate the firing in the first place. We have more than 50 civilians injured and we have more than four or five officers killed in the process. This is why it is important for Cambodia to come back to the bilateral process as we suggest.

SNOWDON: A plan to have Indonesian monitors on the border fell through when the Thai military objected. Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says several high level committees are already in place for talks.

PANITAN: We call upon Cambodia to come back to the negotiating table bilaterally using our mechanisms. We also want the Indonesian ASEAN Chair to facilitate this meeting as agreed upon previously. And of course our policy is very clear we do not have any aggression policy toward Cambodia at all. We are only defending ourselves and only protecting our sovereignty and our territory, and of course protecting our civilian lives.

SNOWDON: Thailand says the proposed leaders meeting requested by Hun Sen at the ASEAN summit in May, will take place if conditions allow.

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Fighting resumes along Thai-Cambodian border, spreads to new area

Cambodian soldiers inspect a multi-rocket launcher near the Cambodian-Thai border in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, 26 April 2011. Border clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops after four days of fighting killed and injured soldiers on both sides and forced thousands of civilians to evacuate their villages near two disputed temples. Both sides blame the other for instigating the fighting. EPA/MAK REMISSA

Apr 28, 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh/Bangkok - Cambodia said fighting between its forces and Thailand had resumed in four places along their disputed border as of early Thursday.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said the clashes, which started the previous evening, involved heavy artillery and small arms fire, and were focused on the border around the contested temples of Ta Moan and Ta Krabei in north-west Cambodia, as well as a village called Thmar Doun, which lies between the two temples.

Phay Siphan said fighting had also broken out at the border crossing town of O'Smach further east.

Hundreds of civilians fled O'Smach town late Wednesday, the Phnom Penh Post newspaper reported Thursday.

Phay Siphan said Bangkok had not replied to the proposal by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that the nations' two leaders meet at the May 7-8 regional summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta.

'We don't hear anything,' he said. 'Thailand's response has been fighting with us.'

Fighting between the two ASEAN members broke out on Friday and has left at least 13 soldiers and one Thai civilian dead, and about 60 people wounded on both sides.

Overnight the European Union said the clashes were 'very worrying.'

Late Wednesday Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi suggested Bangkok would like to resolve the conflict before the ASEAN summit.

The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had said talks could start once Cambodia stopped shooting at Thailand.

Each side has blamed the other for the fighting.

On Wednesday, Thailand pulled out of ceasefire talks scheduled to take place in Phnom Penh after Cambodian media reported that Bangkok had only agreed to talks because it was losing.

Indonesia, as the current chair of ASEAN, has tried unsuccessfully to mediate between the two nations, and proposed putting observers along the contested border. The plan was welcomed by Cambodia, but rejected by Thailand.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was scheduled to meet his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta on Thursday to discuss the issue further.

Cambodia said Wednesday that more than 31,000 of its citizens had fled the border region, while Thailand said a similar number of its civilians had been evacuated from their villages.

Thailand has blamed UNESCO for escalating the tensions with its decision in 2008 to list the 11th-century temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site, despite Thai claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre area near the temple is still the subject of a five-decade border demarcation dispute.

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Thai Minister Scraps Visit to Phnom Penh

April 28, 2011
Nirmal Ghosh
Straits Times Indonesia

Bangkok. Thailand's defense minister on Wednesday abruptly canceled a visit to Phnom Penh to discuss a ceasefire with his Cambodian counterpart, on grounds that Cambodian media had interpreted his visit as a sign of capitulation by Bangkok.

But Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in his first remarks after the latest round of clashes — which continued with sporadic artillery exchanges yesterday - said “Cambodia doesn't want the conflict to spread further.”

“Cambodia is small, poor and [with] small armed forces, but don't forget that ants can hurt an elephant,' he said, adding he would raise the issue at the Asean summit in Jakarta next weekend.

In Bangkok, Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters: 'I will definitely talk with Cambodia, but I don't want the public to think the decision to talk is a defeat for Thailand.'

He said he would talk with his Cambodian counterpart after returning from a scheduled visit to China.

Later, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva downplayed the change of plan, saying talks had merely been rescheduled.

He visited residents displaced by the clash yesterday, spending a few hours at camps in Surin province.

Thailand and Cambodia remained far apart on the conflict, which saw more artillery fire being exchanged yesterday for the sixth day running. Unconfirmed reports said one civilian was killed on the Thai side of the border.

Thailand's Cabinet on Tuesday ordered a review of bilateral cooperation and military options against Cambodia.

Cambodia reacted yesterday, with foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong saying Phnom Penh “condemns in the strongest terms Thailand's threat and belligerent actions to use its larger and materially superior military might to take control over the Cambodian territory recognized by the International Court of Justice in its 1962 judgment.”

That ruling awarded the disputed 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border to Cambodia — a decision reluctantly accepted by Thailand.

The temple site and adjacent land still under dispute have been the scene of sporadic clashes since mid-2008 when Thai nationalists revived the issue. The area saw more clashes on Tuesday.

The Cambodian Premier in his remarks at a function in Phnom Penh said: “We have to respect the role of Asean. All the negotiations about the disputed border areas near Preah Vihear temple must be with the participation of the third party.”

Bangkok, however, has been resisting third party involvement, with the army rejecting the idea of having observers from Indonesia — the current chair of Asean — despite Thailand's foreign ministry agreeing to such an arrangement in February.

Apart from being a major player in domestic politics and security, the Thai military has traditionally called the shots on border policy, and the civilian government has had to accommodate it.

Professor Duncan McCargo at the University of Leeds was quoted in The Independent as saying “the Thai army has always demanded the right to pursue an independent foreign policy to advance its own ends.”

“By prosecuting this bizarre and pointless border war, the military is trying to present itself as the true guardian of the national interest, seizing the moral high ground from civilian politicians.”

On the Cambodian side, conflict with Thailand plays into the hands of Mr Hun Sen, who has had a prickly relationship with Bangkok since the Democrat Party came to power in late 2008.

To the Thai military, the border dispute also has a domestic political angle.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which in 2006 campaigned against then Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was supported by many retired and serving senior army officers.

It raised the Cambodia issue in 2008, claiming the Thaksin-loyalist government at the time had made concessions to Phnom Penh. With right-wing elements vocal in Bangkok, the army does not want to appear soft on Cambodia.

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US envoy [in Bangkok] encourages truce talks

28/04/2011
Bangkok Post

US ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney called on both Thailand and Cambodia to exercise patience and use peaceful means to end their border conflict, reports said.

Speaking to reporters after paying a courtesy call to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House on Thursday morning, Mrs Kenney said the two countries must refrain from using force in settling the border dispute.

She also hoped that the mechanisms of Asean could bring Thailand and Cambodia back to the negotiating table.

Thailand and Cambodia were both long-time allies of the US and the US government wants to see the border conflict resolved as soon as possible, Mrs Kenney said.

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Cambodia rocks

Ethan (second from right) and Zac Holtzman (bearded) recruited a singer from Cambodia. - Photo by Lauren-Dukoff

Singing in Khmer and English, Dengue Fever channel retro Cambodian pop music

Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011
By AnnaMaria Stephen
San Deigo City Beat (California, USA)

When Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol first met brothers Zac and Ethan Holtzman, she must have wondered if she was making the smartest move joining their new band, Dengue Fever.

“Her sister told her not to do it,” laughs guitarist / vocalist Zac Holtzman—the one with the epic facial hair. “It was right after 9/11, and there I was with my crazy beard.”

What the Holtzmans had in mind was a fusion like the music that ignited Cambodia in the late ’60s and early ’70s, a riff on the Nuggets-era rock that reached Cambodian airwaves as it was broadcast from U.S. troops stationed in neighboring Vietnam. Ethan, who plays the Farfisa organ in the band, had returned from a trip to Cambodia with a cache of cassettes.

“The music had two things going for it,” Zac explains. “It’s familiar—you recognize the surf and garage and psychedelic elements that I tend to like—and it’s also exotic with the Cambodian style of singing and they’d mix in some of their traditional instruments, too.

“The female singers do a lot of this technique that they call ghost voice,” he continues. “It’s like a Cambodian yodeling: They crack into a higher register and touch on notes an octave or two higher and then drop down to wherever they were singing before.”

The Holtzmans, based in L.A., decided to recruit a singer from Long Beach’s vibrant Cambodian community. Chhom Nimol—a wedding singer who’d performed before the king and queen in her native country—hailed from Battambang, a town that produced some of Cambodia’s most legendary singers and composers, including Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea. Like most artists with Western influences, they perished under Pol Pot’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-’70s.

“It’s kind of like they’re living on through Nimol,” says Zac. “We always show respect to [their legacy]. In one sense, we feel like we’re carrying the torch, but we also like adding to [the music] in whatever ways we want and growing it.”

Dengue Fever’s self-titled 2003 debut, which featured covers sung in Khmer, was an instant sensation in indie land.

“We never thought of ourselves as a cover band, though,” Zac points out. “It was just easiest for Nimol, who didn’t speak any English.”

Since then, the band has focused almost exclusively on originals, with lyrics written in both Khmer and English, sung by Nimol and Zac. At first, they used translators but now rely on dictionaries and friends.

“Something’s going to be lost [in translation], but something else is added,” Zac says of the process. “A typical phrase that has eight to 10 syllables in English ends up having 20 to 22 syllables in Khmer. You have this perfect thing and you have to hack it apart to translate it. You get rid of all the extraneous words and get it down to the essence of what’s needed. It’s like a haiku.”

Members of Dengue Fever—a sextet that includes bassist Senon Williams, drummer Paul Smith and saxophonist David Ralicke—hate being pigeonholed. They picture themselves as “an indie-rock band with a Cambodian singer,” Zac says, but their influences don’t stop there.

The band just released its fourth full-length, Cannibal Courtship. “I think Cannibal Courtship has all the original elements we’ve had since the beginning, but it’s taken those trails and gone really far and gotten lost in the forest,” Zac says. “We’ve gone deeper and figured out things that work.”

The song “Uku”? “We just let the trippy Cambodian psychedelicness happen,” he says, while “the more poprock songs get more focused and concentrated.”

And African music—always a component of Dengue Fever’s sound—takes prominence in the track “Only a Friend.”

“We joke around that it’s ‘Afro-Beatles,’” Zac laughs. “It has Afrobeat influences, and the choruses are kind of Beatles-esque, with Ringo drumming.”

But their hearts will always belong to Cambodia, where they are active with various charities, including Cambodian Living Arts, which teaches traditions to kids. In 2005, Dengue Fever’s first Cambodian tour was captured in the documentary film Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, and the band recently returned to play a show for the U.S. Embassy as part of its 40th anniversary of good relations with the country.

“There were 10,000 Cambodians filling the plaza,” Zac says. “As far as the eye could see. It was pretty incredible.”

Dengue Fever play with Maus Haus and DJ Claire at The Casbah on Friday, April 29.

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Cambodian, Thai troops exchange gunfire for 7th straight day

PHNOM PENH, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Gunfire exchanges between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border area at the Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province broke out again Thursday morning, said a field military commander.

"The fighting started again this early morning around 3:50 a.m. at the two temples, Thai soldiers triggered the attack first," Suos Sothea, deputy commander of the artillery unit, told Xinhua by telephone from the battle fields.

"In fact, Thai troops have fired artillery shelling on our troops almost throughout tonight and they have increased shelling in early Thursday morning," he said.

"Thai forces have fired both small guns and heavy artilleries on our troops over the areas, they have ambitions to fight and capture the temples," he said. "We have also exchanged some small guns to defend our territory, we do not use heavy guns to fight back yet," he said.

The fighting marks the seven straight days of armed clashes between the two countries' troops. No immediate casualties are available for Thursday fighting.

The last six days of clashes has killed eight Cambodian and five Thai soldiers, and one Thai civilian.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated. Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple.

Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, 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.

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Thai-Cambodia clash toll climbs to 15

Thu, Apr 28, 2011
AFP

BANGKOK - Heavy weapons fire rocked the Thai-Cambodian border for a seventh day on Thursday as officials confirmed a 15th death in the bloodiest fighting between the neighbours in decades.

"One Thai soldier died during a clash this morning and four were wounded," Major Sukit Subanjui, deputy spokesman for northeastern region Thai army, told AFP.

Eight Cambodian and six Thai troops have died since fighting began on Friday along their shared border, prompting growing diplomatic pressure on the neighbours to end the conflict.

Bangkok has said a Thai civilian has also been killed.

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Border conflict festers

April 28, 2011
The Nation

Abhisit will seek talks with Hun Sen, doubts his intentions; Cambodian PM vows to raise issue at Asean summit, says does not want clashes to spread

Efforts to bring peace to the borders of Thailand and Cambodia have got nowhere as leaders of the two countries have yet to offer ways to settle the armed conflict, despite saying they are ready to talk.

Both nations claim they did not trigger the border skirmishes and have called on each other to stop shooting.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the House of Representatives yesterday that he would seek an opportunity to talk with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in early May in Jakarta.

Hun Sen's move

However, Hun Sen said he would raise the border conflict at the Asean meeting, rather than talking bilaterally with his Thai counterpart.

"Cambodia will raise the issue at the Asean summit next month, so Abhisit and I can negotiate during the Asean Summit," Hun Sen was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

"Even though there are no Cambodia-Thailand border issues on the agenda for the Asean Summit, I will raise them with Asean leaders," he said.

Thailand and Cambodia have been in military conflict over the boundary in two major areas - Preah Vihear in Si Sa Ket, and Ta Muen Thom in Surin.

Hun Sen said Cambodia would talk to Thailand over the conflict at Ta Muen and Ta Kwai bilaterally, but needed a third party for the Preah Vihear dispute.

The Preah Vihear Temple issue has been raised with the United Nations Security Council and Asean, he said. "We have to respect the role of Asean. All the negotiations about the disputed border areas near Preah Vihear Temple must be with the participation of a third party."

Abhisit said he doubted the Cambodian leader's motives, saying: "If you are ready to talk, why do you keep firing guns?"

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told the House yesterday his government would do all it could to push Cambodia into bilateral talks to settle the dispute. He urged the legislative body to help convince Cambodian leaders to restore peace along the border.

Kasit met US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney to brief her on the conflict with Cambodia. He urged Washington to help persuade leaders in Phnom Penh to sit together with Thailand for peace talks. The minister also met envoys from Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada for the same purpose.

Kasit said Thailand was not an aggressor and wanted to live peacefully with Cambodia.

Hun Sen said Cambodia does not want conflict with its bigger neighbour Thailand and called for a ceasefire, saying: "Cambodia doesn't want the conflict to spread further. Cambodia is small, poor and has small armed forces, but don't forget that ants can hurt an elephant."

Peace effort fails

An attempt to open peace talks between senior officials of the two neighbours failed yesterday as Defence Minister Prawit Wongsu-wan changed his mind at the last minute about meeting his Cambo-dian counterpart Tea Banh. He was reported to be disappointed over reports in the Cambodian media about the conflict, according to a military source. He was told that the Cambodians claimed he was seeking peace talks because the Thai military had admitted it was defeated and had lost the battle, the source said.

Prawit flew to China yesterday as originally scheduled and will seek a meeting with Tea Banh after the trip later this week, according to his secretary Noppadon Intapanya.

Fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops at Ta Muen and Ta Kwai temples continued for the sixth day yesterday with exchange of small arms fire in the border area.

The fighting erupted last Friday after Cambodian troops attempted to take a position in the Phnom Dangrek mountain near the Hindu temple. The fighting has left six dead, including a civilian on the Thai side, and injured more than 50 so far.

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[Thailand:] A nation under military rule

April 28, 2011 The Nation
Opinion

It seems that the nation I love so much (Thailand) is busy destroying itself. I believe much of it started with Thaksin, the would-be dictator. As greedy and corrupt as he was, however, he was not untypical of a rich Thai person.

Next came the yellow shirts who took over Government House and later Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. They then started all the trouble with Cambodia. Why? Because they could - as they had the backing of powerful people and institutions (this arrogance being another unforunate aspect of wealthy Thai society).

Then came the violence-prone red shirts and their leaders who made matters worse with their hate speeches and disregard for other Thais trying to make a living downtown.

The Ministry of [mis]Education also deserves dishonourable mention for failing to improve Thailand's woeful schools over the past 30 years.

The result of this failure is that Thais tend to view issues in black and white rather than shades of grey.

The final nail in the coffin is the Thai Army's de facto rule of this country since 1932.

Now we have a senseless war with Cambodia in the offing and a coup only a matter of weeks, if not days, away.

Cry, beloved country.

CM Phillips

Nonthaburi

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Thailand's Premier Visits Cambodia Battle Zone as Both Sides Seek Talks

Apr 26, 2011
By Daniel Ten Kate
Bloomberg

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva headed to a border area to visit residents displaced by a week-long clash with Cambodian forces, as one of his aides said a resolution to the conflict may be reached within days.

Abhisit visited camps for a few hours today in Surin province, where battles have killed at least 13 people since April 22. Both sides blame each other for starting the fighting that continued for a sixth day along their disputed border, the site of sporadic clashes over disputed temples since 2008.

A resolution to the conflict could take place “sooner rather than later, maybe in two or three days,” Sirichoke Sopha, an aide to Abhisit and a lawmaker in the premier’s Democrat party, said by phone. “War isn’t good for anyone.”

Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan pulled out of planned cease-fire talks after Cambodian media reports indicated they were a sign that Thailand was surrendering, deputy army spokesman Veerachon Sukondhadhpatipak said by phone today. Abhisit told reporters later that Prawit was heading to China on a business trip today, and would reschedule the meeting.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said today that the countries could hold one-on-one negotiations over Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, where most of this week’s fighting has occurred, Xinhua reported, citing comments to reporters in Phnom Penh. Talks over Preah Vihear temple, a United Nations World Heritage Site, must be resolved with a third party, the report said.

“Cambodia doesn’t want the conflict to spread further,” Xinhua quoted Hun Sen as saying.

Meeting Planned

A meeting between Prawit and Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh would take place in Phnom Penh “in the very near future,” Cambodia’s defense ministry said in a statement yesterday. Today it accused Thailand of trying to seize Ta Moan temple as fighting with “heavy weaponry” continued.

Thailand denies any territorial ambitions and says it’s acting in self defense.

“It is quite simple to settle this border conflict,” Veerachon said. “If Cambodia stops firing, nothing will happen.”

The latest fighting is more than a hundred kilometers (62 miles) from Preah Vihear temple, the site of battles in February that claimed at least 10 lives and displaced 30,000 people. The border conflict erupted in 2008 after Thailand opposed Cambodia’s efforts to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

Casualty Toll

Five Thai soldiers and one civilian have been killed in fighting over the past week, Veerachon said. Seven Cambodian soldiers have also died, the Phnom Penh Post reported yesterday.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled in a 9-3 vote that Cambodia had sovereignty over Preah Vihear. It didn’t rule on the land surrounding the temple, and the two countries also have yet to reconcile 10,422 square miles (26,993 square kilometers) of disputed waters in the Gulf of Thailand that may contain oil and gas reserves.

Thailand’s $264 billion economy is more than 26 times the size of Cambodia’s. The Cambodian army spent $191 million in 2009, compared with $4.9 billion for the military in Thailand, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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