On 4 February 2009 Mr. Vasin Teeravechyan, Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr. Var Kim Hong, Senior Minister and Advisor to the Cambodian Government in charge of state border, held a joint press conference at Plaza Athenee Hotel Bangkok to announce the conclusion of the 4th Meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) which took place from 3-4 February 2009 in Bangkok.
Both sides stated that the meeting was held in an amicable atmosphere with the common aim of resolving boundary issues through peaceful means and to use the JBC as the bilateral mechanism of dispute settlement for all boundary issues between the two countries. Moreover, the meeting resulted in mutual agreement on various issues as follows:
1. Both sides agreed in principle to establish a working group to discuss legal matters on boundary. The first meeting of the working group will convene at the same time as and within the margins of the next JBC meeting.
2. Both sides agreed in principle to execute Step 2 of the Terms of Reference and Master plan of 2003, which is to produce Orthophoto Maps of the entire boundary in order to assist the survey and demarcation works.
3. Both sides exchanged views on the instruction for the joint survey on Sector 6 (Boundary Pillar 1 — Khao Sattasom). The details of the instruction will be further discussed among technical officers.
4. Both sides agreed to establish an additional joint survey team to conduct work in Sector 5 (from Boundary Pillar 1 westward to Boundary Pillar 23)
5. The Cambodian side communicated to the Thai side the revised draft text in the English language of the Reports of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Field Survey for Fact Finding Mission on the Conditions and Location of 29 Boundary Pillars (23-51)—the first draft being made by the Thai side. The said draft text will be further examined together by technical officers of both countries. In addition, the Thai side will communicate the draft text in the English language of the Reports of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Field Survey for Fact Finding Mission on the Conditions and Location of the other 19 pillars to the Cambodian side for examination at the earliest opportunity.
6. Both sides agreed to further discuss the appellation of the Temple of Phra Viharn and the appellation of the Military Monitoring Groups for the “Keo Sikha Kiri Svara” Pagoda (“the Pagoda”) and the area surrounding the Pagoda.
7. Both sides agreed to postpone the signing of the Agreed Minutes of the JBC Special Session in Siem Reap on 10-12 November 2008 and the Agreed Minutes of the Fourth JBC Meeting in Bangkok on 3-4 February 2009 pending further discussion on the abovementioned matter.
The next JBC meeting will take place in Cambodia. Both sides will agree upon the dates and the venue through diplomatic channels.
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