Thai protests Cambodian border incursion and clash

Oct 4, 2008, 7:50 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand on Saturday issued an official protest to the Cambodian government over an alleged border incursion and subsequent clash that left three soldiers injured, Thai officials said Saturday.

On Friday a Thai military patrol encountered Cambodian troops allegedly situated about 1 kilometre inside Thai territory near the Phreah Vihear temple, an 11th century Hindu temple that has been the cause of many border disputes between the two neighbouring countries for almost five decades.

'According to the Thai military the Cambodians were definitely inside Thai territory, and the Cambodian side opened fire first,' said Thai foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

Two Thai soldiers and one Cambodian were wounded in the brief firefight on the border.

The foreign ministry's permanent secretary Virsakdi Footrakul plans to submit a formal letter of protest to the Cambodian charge d'affaires in Bangkok over the incident at 5 p.m. Saturday, said Tharit.

Preah Vihear, an ancient Hindu temple built on a 525-metre- high cliff on the Dongrak mountain range that defines the Thai- Cambodian border, has been the cause of a border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia for decades.

In 1962, the two countries agreed to settle joint claims to the temple at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Cambodia won, but the court stopped short of defining the border in the area.

Thailand claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjoining the temple is still disputed.

The ancient spat got a fresh start in July when UNESCO agreed to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site. Although the inscription excluded the 4.6 square kilometres of disputed territory, and Thailand protested the listing.

The spat escalated from a diplomatic row to a potential military conflict in mid-July when three Thais were detained for entering the disputed temple territory, and both sides dispatched military troops to the area.

Efforts have since been made to solve the dispute diplomatically but this path has been slowed down by political turmoil in Thailand which last month saw its prime minister sacked for moonlighting as a TV cook show host and had to appoint a new chief executive and cabinet.