US says it will be guided by regional views in dealing with Thai-Cambodia dispute

SINGAPORE: The United States will be guided by the views of Southeast Asian countries in assessing a simmering Thai-Cambodia border dispute if it comes up for mediation in the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.

The border confrontation between Thailand and Cambodia is over a piece of land around an ancient Hindu temple that was designated a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Thailand feared that such a designation would affect its claim over surrounding land.

Earlier this week, Cambodia wrote a letter to the United Nations seeking its intervention.

"We're going to be guided very heavily by the views of the countries in this region," Rice, whose country is a permanent member of the Security Council, told reporters during a visit to Singapore.

Rice's comments came hours after Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Bunditkul said the U.S. and two other permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, had indicated to him that Cambodia had been too hasty in approaching the world body.

Rice, who is here to attend a security conference, did not directly comment on Sahas' statement but said she made it clear to Southeast Asian countries that the U.S. "will be very much interested in and, in fact, guided by the regional assessment of what needs to be done here," she said.

She noted the issue "hasn't really been taken up before the (U.N. Security) Council yet although there has been a potential request passed."

But "we'll continue to consult with the regional states," she said.

Thousands of troops have been amassed along the border in a tense standoff for just over a week. Cambodia has asked the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting next week to resolve the problem, a move that has irritated Thailand. It says the matter should be resolved bilaterally.

Thailand has also not allowed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, to mediate in the dispute.

French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said Wednesday the 15-nation Security Council "should meet as fast as possible" based on Cambodia's request.

"We are in charge of peace and security, so, if we can diffuse the tensions and if we can prevent any development that could be dramatic for the region and for peace and security, we will do it and we think we have to do it," he said.