Cambodia, Thailand agree joint border patrol but troops remain

A join patrolling of border with Thai troops is a loss for Cambodia side, the patrolling is in Cambodia sovereignty.

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia - Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday agreed to joint patrols of disputed border areas after deadly clashes between the two sides, but made little progress in their months-long spat.

Senior military officials from both sides met in Thailand the day after gunfights broke out on disputed land near Preah Vihear temple, a UN heritage site on Cambodian territory and the focus of months of tensions.

"We will introduce the joint patrol to avoid this kind of incident happening again," said Lieutenant General Wiboonsak Neeparn, Thailand's northeastern army commander, after the five-hour meeting.

Cambodian defence minister Tea Banh called the outcome "a good result."

"We understood each other," he told AFP. "We cannot patrol individually because it could lead to a misunderstanding."

Officials from both countries said there was little headway on the deeper issues of ending the stand-off and withdrawing troops or heavy weaponry from a number of disputed border areas near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

"The meeting has not made much progress, but the two sides agreed to stay where they are," Wiboonsak told reporters.

Governments from both countries have said they are seeking to calm the situation and mend relations, and the United States, the United Nations and the European Union have all called for restraint.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, meanwhile, said his country was ready to mediate between Thailand and Cambodia.

But officials from both sides continue to insist they did not ignite Wednesday's fire-fight, which left two Cambodian soldiers dead and two injured, and seven Thai soldiers wounded.

A third Cambodian soldier who had already been ill died early Thursday of smoke inhalation from repeatedly firing his rocket-launcher, said Cambodian Major Meas Yeoun.

The Cambodian army said it had released 13 Thai soldiers Thursday after they surrendered in a disputed area during fighting, but Thai officials denied any of their troops had been captured.

The situation on the border appeared calmer Thursday as soldiers smiled and exchanged cordial words, an AFP correspondent there said, while officials from both sides toned down their rhetoric.

Lieutenant General Surapol Puanaiyaka, of Thailand's top security body the National Security Council, said there was little danger of outright war.

"I am confident that the situation will not blow out of hand or escalate into full-scale warfare," he said.

Civilians, however, have fled the area and Thai expatriates and tourists are leaving Cambodia.

A Thai official said that 432 Thais who were in Cambodia when the border fighting broke out returned home after the Bangkok government appealed for anyone not on urgent business to leave.

Cambodian riot police were deployed Wednesday in front of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, which was set on fire by anti-Thai rioters in 2003.

Cambodian interior ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said undercover police were monitoring Thai businesses to ensure their safety.

"We're protecting all Thai businessmen and citizens in Cambodia in case our people get furious and do something wrong that would not benefit either side," Khieu Sopheak told AFP.

The current stand-off first flared in July after Preah Vihear was awarded World Heritage status by the UN cultural body UNESCO, angering some Thai nationalists who claim ownership of the site.

The situation quickly escalated into a military confrontation, with up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops facing off for six weeks, although both sides in August agreed to reduce troop numbers in the main disputed area.

Tensions flared again this week after talks on Monday aimed at cooling the standoff failed.

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