Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to urge their Joint Working Group (JWG) to speed up the talks regarding the withdrawal of troops from the disputed border area around the 11 th century Preah Vihear temple.
According to the Chinese news daily the Xinhua, a common consensus was reached between Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh and his Thai counterpart Sukumpol Suwanatat at a meeting in Phnom Penh on May 28.
Banh said the JWG will convene its second meeting in Phnom Penh in June to further discuss the withdrawal of troops in more detail, as part of efforts to comply with the International Court of Justice’s decision on July 18, 2011.
Suwanatat said the slow process involved on forging an agreement for a pullout is damaging Thailand , adding that the major obstacle is the amount of landmines in the area.
Cambodia and Thailand set up the JWG last December to work towards the complete and simultaneous redeployment of all military personnel from the Provisional Demilitarised Zone (PDZ) around the Preah Vihear temple area.
However, neither country has withdrawn any troops from the PDZ to date.-VNA
According to the Chinese news daily the Xinhua, a common consensus was reached between Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh and his Thai counterpart Sukumpol Suwanatat at a meeting in Phnom Penh on May 28.
Banh said the JWG will convene its second meeting in Phnom Penh in June to further discuss the withdrawal of troops in more detail, as part of efforts to comply with the International Court of Justice’s decision on July 18, 2011.
Suwanatat said the slow process involved on forging an agreement for a pullout is damaging Thailand , adding that the major obstacle is the amount of landmines in the area.
Cambodia and Thailand set up the JWG last December to work towards the complete and simultaneous redeployment of all military personnel from the Provisional Demilitarised Zone (PDZ) around the Preah Vihear temple area.
However, neither country has withdrawn any troops from the PDZ to date.-VNA
