On 3 April 2009, Mr. Tharit Charungvat, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry spokesman, gave an interview to the press regarding the 3 April clash between Thai and Cambodian soldiers, as follows:
This morning (3 April), Thai and Cambodian troops engaged in a brief clash at Phu Makhua in the area under Thai sovereignty. The clash lasted for approximately 5 minutes and there was no casualty or injury on the Thai side.
The said incident followed an incident yesterday (2 April), in which a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine, believed to be laid recently, leaving him with a severed leg. In the aftermath, the Thai troops visited the blast site to investigate the incident and then encountered an intrusion by approximately 20 Cambodian troops, encroaching into the area which is within Thai territory. After the talks between the two sides failed, the Cambodian side started to walk away and turned back to open fire at the Thai troops with rifles and RPG rockets, forcing the Thai side to fire back in self-defence. The Thai troops were not injured in the incident. The Royal Thai Government will lodge a protest regarding the incident with the Royal Government of Cambodia by the end of today.
The Royal Thai Government reaffirms its sovereignty over the area where the clash took place. It calls on the Cambodian side to avoid any use of force and to continue with the negotiations under the existing bilateral mechanisms, which have been progressing well, with a view to preventing any losses on both sides.
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