Thai military ready to send troops to Cambodian border

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20100728/cambodia-thailand-border-dispute-100728/
Thai military ready to send troops to Cambodian border





Representatives of civic sectors cheer during a
protest in front of a UNESCO office on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in
Bangkok. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand's army is prepared to
defend its border with Cambodia if a territorial dispute heats up, the
prime minister said Wednesday, as the two nations were set to tussle on
the diplomatic front at a UN meeting in Brazil.

Deadly clashes have flared in the past over the Preah Vihear temple,
which the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization named a World Heritage site in 2008, over Thailand's
objections.

Two Thai soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in April 2009 after
troops exchanged fire with assault rifles and rocket launchers along
Cambodia's northern border near the temple, one of several clashes in
recent years.

Cambodia will present a management plan in Brazil on the disputed territory at a UNESCO meeting this week.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled the 10th-century
border temple belongs to Cambodia, rejecting Thai claims. Cambodia's
World Heritage bid reignited Thai resentment over the ruling, and there
have been small armed clashes in the area during the past few years.

Thailand claims the management plan would infringe on a small area of
undemarcated territory around the temple, of which both sides stake a
claim. It has called on UNESCO to reject the plan, and said it will walk
out of the meeting if it is accepted. It also said it would consider
withdrawing from UNESCO's membership if Cambodia's plan is accepted.

Leaders of both countries have used the issue to stir up nationalist sentiment and shore up domestic political support.

Abhisit met Wednesday with Defence Minister Pravit Wongsuwan, who
told him that, pending Cabinet approval, the army is ready to deploy
more troops to the already heavily defended border if Cambodian forces
intrude into Thai territory.

"The army is now ready to defend our sovereignty if breached," said
Abhisit after his weekly Cabinet meeting. He said he was appealing to
members of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee "to remember the very
purpose this committee was set up for. It should be a purveyor of peace
and culture, not of tension and conflicts."

A Thai delegation, led by Minister of Natural Resources and
Environment Suwit Khunkitti, is in Brasilia to attend the UNESCO
meeting.

"We must make it clear that Thailand cannot and will not accept the
proposal," said Abhisit. "And if the committee will not listen to our
objection, we will not take part in the voting process."