Cambodia not to boycott ASEAN Summit in Thailand

Cambodia not to boycott ASEAN Summit in Thailand

The bilateral armed clash at the border area in October will not stop Cambodia from attending the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Thailand, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily on Wednesday quoted an official as saying.

"We will not boycott the summit in December, even as we have border dispute," Phay Siphan, secretary of state of the Cambodian Council of Ministers told a seminar here on Tuesday.

The clash in October killed two Cambodian soldiers and wounded two others, after Thai troops entered the disputed area over sovereignty claim.

"We want to keep the friendship and cooperative ties with our neighbor countries," said Phay Siphan.

The official said both Cambodia and Thailand currently need to realize their border demarcation in accordance with the conventionally recognized maps 100 years ago by the French colonialist.

The map was made with the agreement of the Thai authority then, he added.

There are now 73 demarcation posts along the 805-km border between Cambodia and Thailand, 50 percent of which are recognized by the Thai side. Cambodia still plans to plant hundreds more posts there in order to specify the border line.