Thailand committed to resolving border conflict with Cambodia through bilateral negotiations: FM spokesperson
BANGKOK, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Thailand remains committed to resolving its ongoing border conflict with Cambodia through bilateral negotiations and calls on the international community to urge Cambodia to return to the negotiating table, said Thai Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura on Friday.
Thailand remains firm in its position stated all along since the beginning of the tension that Thailand wants to resolve the dispute through peaceful means and through bilateral dialogue, which Thailand still considers as "the only way out," Nikorndej told Xinhua in an interview.
"We are willing to talk," he said, adding that "the precondition would be a ceasefire from the Cambodian side."
Tensions have remained high along the Thai-Cambodian border in recent weeks, including two incidents in which Thai soldiers were injured by landmines. Nikorndej said that the Thai side determined the mines had been recently planted inside Thai territory by the Cambodian side, for which Thailand lodged a protest with Cambodia.
Thai and Cambodian militaries started fighting on Thursday, causing casualties on both sides. Nikorndej blamed the escalation on Cambodian "provocation," in which Cambodian troops first opened fire and subsequently targeted non-military sites, resulting in civilian casualties.
"This is unacceptable to the Thai military," he said.
Nevertheless, Nikorndej emphasized that Thailand is trying to contain the conflict to military targets along the border to avoid harm to civilians.
Commenting on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's reaching out to leaders of both Thailand and Cambodia in his capacity as current ASEAN chair, Nikorndej said Thailand views the issue as a bilateral matter, "not an ASEAN issue," and wants to exhaust all bilateral mechanisms first.
"If the bilateral mechanism does not work, the issue is still bilateral in nature. We would be okay if Malaysia would try and help bring Thailand and Cambodia to discuss bilaterally on the table," he said.■