Cambodia, Thailand trade media barbs over dispute marine deployments+

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 21 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Cambodia and Thailand have traded allegations and counterallegations via the media recently over the deployment of naval forces in a disputed area in the Gulf of Thailand, with Cambodia denying Friday Thai charges that its navy has violated bilateral patrol agreements.

The brouhaha began last Saturday when The Bangkok Post quoted an anonymous Thai military source as saying the Thai navy had set up a new base on Koh Kut near an area of overlapping claims after Cambodia granted a concession to French oil company Total S.A. to explore for oil and gas in the region.

Other Thai military sources claimed later that Cambodian naval vessels were patrolling in the disputed area last week, which Thailand said was a violation of an agreement on the overlapping area that requires each side to inform the other when naval patrols will be carried out.

Cambodia has denied the Thai allegations delivered via the press and most leading Cambodian newspapers highlighted those denials in their stories Friday.

Chhum Socheat, spokesman for Cambodia's National Defense Ministry, denied the reports outright and said Cambodian naval vessels never entered the overlapping area.

Instead, he claimed, the Thai Royal Navy had conducted an exercise that included an aircraft carrier and several warships near Koh Kut.

He added the naval exercise was an apparent show of force after the Cambodian government granted the oil and gas exploration rights to Total to explore for oil in nearby waters.

The Bangkok Post said Thailand's Ministry of Defense plans to protest Cambodian patrols via the Foreign Ministry.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's Foreign Ministry, said he has not seen any protest note yet, and he too denied Cambodian naval activity in the disputed area.

Cambodia announced July 19 it had awarded rights to Total to explore in a 2,430-square-kilometer area that is also claimed by Thailand.

So far, Cambodia and Thailand have not faced off over their maritime border, but some fear a confrontation may not be far off.

Since July last year, the two countries' militaries have skirmished several times across a disputed land border near Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple, which was listed around the same time as a World Heritage Site, despite claims by some in Thailand to the temple.

Cambodia claims Thai troops crossed into its territory, triggering short-lived firefights, while Thailand claims its troops have always remained on the Thai side of the border.