The special meeting of the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) concluded Monday evening with both Thailand and Cambodia agreed not to use force to settle their dispute over the borderline near Preah Vihear Temple.
Cambodian military police patrol Preah Vihear temple, 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
The meeting started Monday morning in Thailand's eastern border province of Sa Kaew was called as the military stand off near Preah Vihear Temple reached the six days. Both countries deployed troops and weapons to a plot of 4.6 square kilometer near the temple. The Thai side claimed that the areas are overlapping zones while Cambodia claimed it is in its territory.
Thai Supreme Commander Gen Boonsang Niempradit and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh who chaired the special meeting emerged at a press conference after nearly eight hours of meeting.
But, the meeting failed to reach any breakthrough, according to local newspaper the Nation's website.
Boonsrang was quoted as saying that the two sides were unable to solve the legal issues involved in the controversy over the temple' s compound, parts of which are claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia.
"We will need to consult the government on the law," Boonsrang told a press conference after the lengthy meeting.
Both countries will remain the number of their troops and weapons there and will order their troops not to use forces in the area, he said.
Both Boonsang and Tea Banh cited legislation and legal technicalities as obstacles in reaching any agreement on the issue.
