Groups Want ‘No Concessions’ in Hun Sen Border Talks

Thursday, 23 September 2010
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, D.C

Photo: AP Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, left, greets Prime Minister Hun Sen during their meeting in Hua Hin, Thailand, on April 4, 2010.

Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to meet his Thai counterpart during meetings in New York this weekend, but experts and members of the opposition say he must be careful not to give concessions to Thailand over a contentious border issue.

Hun Sen is in New York to meet with Asean leaders and top US officials, and his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vijjajiva will be the first in nearly a year.

But the talks are coming before Thai parliament has approved discussions between a joint border commission seeking to resolve the border row, in which both sides claim ownership of a small strip of land near Preah Vihear temple.

Clear border demarcation cannot take place without the approval of three sets of meeting minutes from the border committee by Thai parliament.