On 9 February 2011 Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, responded to media enquiries concerning the current situation along the Thai-Cambodian border as follows:
1. On the question whether Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya would be traveling to New York to meet Mr. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, the Spokesperson said that the Foreign Minister had been in constant dialogue with his Cambodian counterpart, including during his recent trip to co-chair the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JC) in Siem Reap and their telephone conversation following the clashes which took place between Thai and Cambodian troops along the border, during which both sides agreed to convene a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) at the earliest opportunity. They have at this stage agreed in principle to hold the JBC meeting during the last week of February 2011 in Thailand, and officials of both sides are working out the details.
2. As for the Foreign Minister’s trip to New York, this resulted from high-level discussions within the Royal Thai Government on 8 February 2011 which resolved that after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Foreign Minister had sent notes to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to clarify the situation and Thailand’s position, it would be useful if the Foreign Minister could travel to New York to provide information to the UNSC directly in order to reassert Thailand’s position and meet with the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. The Foreign Minister is scheduled to depart this coming weekend and attend a session to brief the UNSC on 14 February 2011. This does not in any way mean that the UNSC would play a mediating role or intervene in the current situation.
3. The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson emphasized that the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border could be solved bilaterally between Thailand and Cambodia. This is consistent with what Mr. Marty M. Natalegawa, Foreign Minister of Indonesia, as the current ASEAN chair, said in his meeting with Foreign Minister Kasit on 8 February 2011 that Thailand and Cambodia should find a solution to the situation bilaterally while ASEAN and other countries could lend support to the bilateral process.
4. With regard to UNESCO’s press release stating its intention to send a delegation to the Temple of Phra Viharn to assess the state of the Temple, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said that it might not be appropriate for UNESCO to visit the Temple at this moment as the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border remains tense and such a visit could further complicate the situation. As UNESCO is responsible for cultural matters, it should carry out its work in inspecting and preserving the ancient site when the situation has returned to normalcy. Nonetheless, should UNESCO wish to enter the area, it must officially seek Thailand’s permission beforehand. The Royal Thai Government has recently sent a note to the Director-General of UNESCO stating its position on the consideration of the management plan for the area of the Temple of Phra Viharn and its inscription as a World Heritage Site, which is that any consideration related to the inscription of the Temple should be postponed until the work of the Thai-Cambodian JBC on the boundary in the area near the Temple has been completed.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th