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| Cambodian military police patroled Preah Vihear temple Monday, as a military standoff escalated without resolution. |
Members of a Thai-Cambodian border committee failed to find
common ground Monday as they sought resolution to a continued military build-up
that has escalated to include tanks and artillery, officials said.
A Cambodian delegation remained in Thailand late
Monday, but officials were unsure they would resume negotiations Tuesday.
Monday's meeting was not successful, because the Thai side
asked Cambodia
to discuss border demarcation that was not acceptable, Defense Minister Tea
Banh told VOA Khmer.
Both sides have so far kept calm on both sides of the
border, he added.
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong meanwhile sent a request to
Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo for an Asean inter-ministerial group to
solve what he called a "grave situation" where "tension between Thailand and Cambodia is escalating."
"Thai troops with artilleries and tanks are building up
along the border, constituting a very serious threat not only to the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia, but also to peace and
stability in our region," Hor Namhong wrote.
More than 4,000 Thai and Cambodian troops have moved to the
border near Preah Vihear temple, more than double the number Friday, the
Associated Press reported.
Cambodian troops remained in an alert posture Monday,
although there was no sign of fighting.
Soldiers on both sides said they remained safe.
One Thai soldier told VOA Khmer he was impatient to leave
and was not anxious to fight.
Thai officials maintain their soldiers are firmly on Thai
soil, a claim disputed by Cambodia,
which claims the land surrounding Preah Vihear temple, an 11th-Century
Hindu structure dedicated to the god Shiva.
The temple's July 7 inclusion on a Unesco World Heritage
site list was celebrated in Cambodia
but led to a political crisis in Thailand. On July 8, a contingent
of Thai troops entered a pagoda claimed by Cambodia following the detention by
Cambodian police of three Thai protesters in the temple.
Soldiers on both sides of the border at Preah Vihear temple
have been ordered not to drink, as the standoff entered its seventh day,
government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.
Most villagers from the Preah Vihear area have fled for fear
of fighting, but the situation remained calm Monday. Not all were prepared to
go, however.
"I will not leave if there is no order for me to leave,"
said Van Son, 44, who lives with his wife in a small home at the top of the
mountain, about 40 meters from troops north of the temple.