AP:
About 40 Thai troops entered Cambodian territory on Tuesday as tension escalated over disputed land around an ancient temple, a Cambodian official said.
The Thai military denied any border violation, saying the troops had only deployed near the disputed area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple "to protect our sovereignty."
The claimed intrusion follows the arrest by Cambodia of three Thai citizens who crossed the frontier near the temple, which was recently awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO.
Thailand claims some of the territory near Preah Vihear.
The Thai troops entered Cambodian territory near the temple, said Hang Soth, director-general of the national authority for Preah Vihear temple, an agency responsible for the monument.
Cambodian troops have been ordered to be on alert but not to be the first to fire, Hang Soth said.
Thai Maj. Gen. Kanok Netakawesana, the regional army commander [BP: He is not the Second Army Region Commander], said in a telephone interview that the troops were on Thai soil close to the disputed area. He declined to give the number of soldiers deployed.
"We are not violating the territory of Cambodia. We have every right to deploy troops here to protect our sovereignty," Kanok said.
Hang Soth said a Thai Buddhist monk, a woman and a man apparently managed to evade a checkpoint on the Thai side and crossed through a jungle border into Cambodia.
The incident marked the first cross-border foray by Thai protesters since Cambodia shut off access to Preah Vihear temple to visitors from Thailand late last month.
He said they were immediately stopped by Cambodian guards and were being held until Thai officials came to take them back. Earlier, he had said the protesters had already been returned to Thailand.
BP: In Cambodian territory or the 4.6 sq km of disputed territory?
Second Army Commander Lieutenant General Sujit Sittiprapha (สุจิตร สิทธิประภา) is quoted in Matichon as saying the 3 Thais have been detained by Preah Vihear guards and they are still negotiating - they had negotiated with the Cambodian army, but he noted they are not in the custody of the army. He said he had received confirmation that the three are being looked and are safe. He further said the situation is under control.
Manager reports one Thai solider was seriously injured, from what I understand after stepping on a land mine. It was in a location about 1km from Preah Vihear.
BP: The article only quotes from AFP's wire report in regards to the 40 Thai soldiers so nothing on them yet.
btw, this kind of overshadows the government's stimulus package announced today.
UPDATE: Bloomberg:
Thailand denied reports its soldiers entered Cambodia near a disputed temple, and said the two countries' relationship remains "normal,'' according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.
Earlier Agence France-Presse reported that about 40 Thai soldiers entered Cambodia near a disputed border area containing a 900-year-old Hindu temple. Thailand sent about 10 paramilitary personnel into Cambodia to escort three Thai protesters back who were arrested for illegally crossing the border, Tharit said.
Thai troops "definitely'' did not cross into Cambodia, Tharit said, adding that ``the two governments very much understand each other.''
BP: Can someone just give us the GPS coordinates the land so we know whether it is in Thailand, Cambodia, or in the disputed 4.6 sq km (I assume the last one). I wonder if the Cambodians knew whether the paramilitary escort from Thailand was coming
The Phnom Penh Post (thanks to (ns(op)) in the comments:
At least 30 Thai troops entered Cambodia near Preah Vihear temple Tuesday, officials said, following the arrest of three Thai protesters who had illegally crossed the Cambodian border in the latest flare-up over the disputed 11th-century Hindu monument.
The armed soldiers have chased Cambodian villagers away from the site, said Koy Chan Sophal, deputy chief of a detachment of special Heritage Police who were deployed to Preah Vihear last month as tensions over the temple rose.
"Right now we are ... like hostages of the Thai soldiers. But we are keeping silent and awaiting orders from our top officials," he told the Post.
"If the government tells us to arrest them, we will arrest them immediately," he added.
Hun Saravuth, deputy military police commander for Preah Vihear province, said the Thai soldiers had spread out in a forested area within the temple complex after occupying a Buddhist pagoda located on a mountainside underneath the temple.
"We do not know why they are here," he said.
Earlier in the day a group of more than 100 soldiers and angry Thai demonstrators massed at the international checkpoint located near the temple to demand the return of three Thais – a monk, a nun and a layperson – arrested for crossing the border.
The checkpoint was closed last month after a group of Thai demonstrators approached Preah Vihear, protesting Cambodia's claim to the temple.
Reinforcements from the Choam Kh'san district and border police have been rushed to the temple complex, said district governor Kao Long, but Cambodian officials have vowed to remain calm.
"The Cambodian side is cool and patient," said Hang Soth, director of the National Preah Vihear Authority.
"The top levels of government are trying to resolve the situation. We do not want to fight," he added.
BP: Dare I say the Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman's account of the "escort" doesn't match up with what the Cambodians are saying. How high up the chain of command was the person who ordered the soliders to go in? Did the Cambodians really not know the Thais were coming?
The Cambodian election is coming up and as the ruling party is viewed by analysts to have a commanding lead in the polls and will romp home, so maybe it suits the opposition more to stoke nationalist sentiment. A Thai "invasion" is one of those stories.
The Phnom Penh Post gives a fairly detailed description of how the troops fanned out, chased villagers away and left the local offcials feeling like hostages.
It does seem as though we are talking about the temple complex according to this source.
Would a Thai military source describe the temple as Thai land?
Tjis issue is escalating and as BP notes it has kind of stolen the fire from the governments "stimulus" package
(not so) occasional poster
Interesting political move...The gov't is acting proactive a provocation plus strong response will certainly turn the tables on the entire Preah Vihear situation. As transparent as this ploy seems, nationalist sentiment can be strong, as the whole World Heritage Listing issue turned out to be.
aa
Im not sure this incursion was led by the government especially falling on the day the handouts to the poor were announced.
It is more likely to have been timed to overshadow the governments announcement or have happened by accident or to have been a signal from the military who have been pressing the government to inform every country in the world that Thailand does not recognise the communique signed by Noppadol.
The government could now though spin this by getting behind the move although that would certainly cause problems for Khun Thaksins planned investments in Cambodia not that the investments and the Preah Vihear issue are linked in any way and not that Khun Thaksin has anything to do with the PPP having retired from politics of course ;)
(ns) occasional poster
Military exist as leverage to force another party to resolution. When military act, without political wing's support. That's when shit start to hit the fan...
nsOP,
Good point re: Thaksin and the Gov't's big policy move. I wasn't keeping up with the news and looked at this event in isolation. Your analysis makes much more sense and I do agree. Again!