Thailand seeks foreign support for bilateral talks

By Phy • August 2nd, 2008

Thailand has approached Japan and France and the US for their support for its bilateral talks with Cambodia, according to Bangkok Post.

On his call on Thai FM Tej Bunnag to congratulate him for his appointment, French Ambassador to Thailand Laurent Bili agreed to pass on the information to his country and to an envoy based in the UNSC as the dispute was sensitive in nature and very important for the Thai people, Bangkok Post wrote today.

Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Hideaki Kobayashi, who also called on Mr Tej yesterday, agreed that talks at the bilateral level would be enough between Thailand and Cambodia to resolve this thorny problem, the newspaper reported.

US First Lady Laura Bush is going to visit the disputed area from Bangkok, Thailand, the newspaper wrote in a separate article. It’s one of the places she planned to tour while in Thailand next week. Why she decided to pay the area a visit was not reported.

Channel News Asia, AFP, BBC, CNN and AP did not cover the story.

In a another separate article, Bangkok Post wrote the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters, an anti-government coalition, on Saturday morning marched to the capital’s revered Temple of the Emerald Buddha to oppose the government’s plan to amend the constitution and to pray for “Thailand to regain the Preah Vihear temple from Cambodia.” That happened just a day after Cambodia’s first lady Bun Rany presided over a huge religious celebration at Preah Vihear temple calling on ancestral spirits to defend Cambodia and chase away its enemy.

Sources:
- France urged to settle border row, Bangkok Post (2 Aug 08)
- Laura Bush to visit border area, Bangkok Post (2 Aug 08)
- PAD protesters march to temple of Emerald Buddha, Bangkok Post (2 Aug 08)