Some 200 Thai troops stationed at border area with Cambodia

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-16 15:28

PHNOM PENH - Thailand has stationed around 200 troops at the border area with Cambodia over a land dispute around the Preah Vihear Temple, according to the provincial authority of Preah Vihear Wednesday.

The 11th century Preah Vihear temple is seen near the Thai border in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh, in this June 21, 2008 file photo. [Agencies]

The Cambodian side insisted that the Thai force entered its territory, while the Thai side denied.

Both forces were in armed situation, the provincial authority said.

Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Tuesday night that 170 troops and Thai civilians crossed into the Cambodian territory, but couldn't say how many civilians were among them.

He denied any tension, but said that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the Cambodian troops to withhold firing unless being fired upon first. Negotiation was going on, the minister added.

Earlier Tuesday, three Thai protesters were arrested for jumping an immigration checkpoint to reach the temple. Thai troops then came to fetch them, thus triggering the face off.

"The Thai troops could leave the Cambodian territory only after they signed documents to admit their incursion," local newspapers Wednesday quoted him as saying.

The protesters trespassed the border with intention to reclaim the 11-century classic Khmer-style temple, which the International Court of Justice awarded, together with the land it occupies, to Cambodia in 1962, a decision that rankled the Thais, according to the newspapers.

The temple straddles the Thai-Cambodian border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.