Cambodian senior officials head to Thailand for border talks

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A group of 25 senior Cambodian officials led by Var Kimhong, senior minister in charge of border affairs, left Cambodia on Sunday afternoon for Thailand to attend the fifth meeting of the Joint Commission on Demarcation of Land Boundary to be held on Feb. 13-14.
The meeting will be the first within three years after it has been suspended since 2009 due to sporadic border clashes, Var Kimhong told reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport before his departure.
Cambodian delegation consisted of officials at the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, interior, and land management, as well as legal experts and governors of provinces along the border.
He said the Thai side will be led by Bandhit Sotipalalit, advisor to Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Thai- Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary.
"The upcoming talks will focus on land boundary measurement and search for remaining 25 border markers outside the area of Preah Vihear temple," he said. "For the area of Preah Vihear temple, both sides have to wait until the International Court of Justice interprets the judgment of 1962 on the case concerning the temple of Preah Vihear temple."
"It is a progressive step towards tackling border dispute between the two countries," he said.
Cambodia and Thailand share a land boundary of 805 kilometers. Due to wars, the two countries' border has never been demarcated.
Since June 2006, the Cambodian-Thai Joint Commission on Demarcation of Land Boundary have found 48 border poles out of the total 73 poles, Var Kimhong said, but the search was stalled since the two countries' sporadic border clashes in 2008.
The two neighbors have had border conflict over territorial dispute near Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple since the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008 and witnessed fierce border fighting in February and April last year during the Thai's Democrat-led administration. However, the military tension has eased since last July.