The Albany Gazette - Thai, Cambodian army chiefs meet over border clash

Military clashes between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted in 2008 and have led to several years of sporadic violence, resulting in at least 28 deaths.

Commmander General Pana Klaewplodthuk met with his Cambodian counterpart and both sides agreed to move troops away from the area, said Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree in a statement.

He added that a Joint Boundary Committee would meet in two weeks' time to "solve the problem of the border conflict".

A Cambodian soldier was killed on Wednesday during an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, a Cambodian army spokesman said.

His death -- a rare fatality along the long-sensitive frontier -- came after Cambodian and Thai leaders attended a Southeast Asian summit where the regional ASEAN grouping vowed greater cooperation.

Thailand's military said Wednesday that its soldiers fired in response to gunshots from Cambodia's border force.

The exchange lasted around 10 minutes before the Cambodians requested a ceasefire, the Thai military said.

Cambodian Royal Army spokesman Mao Phalla confirmed the clash on Wednesday, but said Thai soldiers had attacked Cambodian troops who were on border patrol duty in northern Preah Vihear province.

"Our soldier died in the trenches. The Thais came to attack us," Mao Phalla said.

Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told journalists Thursday that there had been a "misunderstanding by both sides".

- 'Remain calm' -

Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over their more than 800-kilometre-long (500-mile) border, which was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina.

The 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to Preah Vihear, a 900-year-old temple near their shared border.

This led to several years of sporadic violence before the International Court of Justice ruled the disputed area belonged to Cambodia.

In February, Bangkok formally protested to Phnom Penh after a video of women singing a patriotic Khmer song in front of another disputed temple was posted on social media.

On Thursday, influential former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen urged calm and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing border issues between the two countries.

Hun Sen is the father of current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and a close ally of ex-Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the father of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn travelled to Cambodia in April for a two-day visit, during which she met Hun Manet to discuss cross-border cooperation on issues such as online scams and air pollution.

On Thursday she called for peaceful discussion, saying "both sides should remain calm and discuss to see what we can agree".

Hun Manet wrote on Facebook that he hoped the meeting between the two army commanders would "yield positive results".

burs-sjc/tc

(M.Scott--TAG)