The Thai government has lodged an official protest to the Cambodian government for dispatching troops to a disputed border territory in the vicinity of the Preah Vihear temple.
Official protest to Cambodia
The Nation, 11 April 2008
While the two nations have been in discussion over the disputer border territory, there have been numerous kinks in the process, usually centred around the 11th century temple of Preah Vihear.
Bangkok requested Phnom Penh to withdraw its armed forces and leave the area vacant until the completion of demarcation – expected in some 10 years.
The dispute over the overlapping area has prohibited Cambodia from registering the Hindu temple as a United Nations World Heritage Site as Thailand claims the proposed preservation area as its own.
“We did not oppose the proposal to list the ancient site as a world heritage site but Cambodia should not include the questionable territory in its proposal,” Virachai said.
