Thai and Cambodian defence ministers will have a special lunch in the disputed border zone to discuss the Preah Vihear temple issue on Tuesday.
Sukumpol: ‘ICJ will ensure good relations’
The move aims to cool tensions along the border ahead of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling over the disputed area, a Thai ministry source said.
Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh, as well as army officers from both sides, will attend the meal in a tent on Tuesday, the source said. It had not been established whether the meeting would take place at the temple compound, Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svara or another location that is jointly guarded, the source said.
The ICJ's 1962 judgement granted ownership of the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia but a 4.6-square-kilometre area around the temple has since been disputed by the two countries.
Cambodia asked the ICJ in 2011 to interpret its 1962 judgement to clarify ownership of that land. Oral hearings will take place on April 15-19, with a ruling due in October.
ACM Sukumpol said yesterday the lunch was initiated as he attended the cremation ceremony of Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had also consulted Cambodian Premier Hun Sen about the event, ACM Sukumpol said.
"The ICJ will see that good relations exist between Thailand and Cambodia," he said.
Tea Banh: Will meet counterpart in tent