Situation 'normal' on Thailand's border with Cambodia: Thai army chief

BANGKOK, Nov 11 (TNA) - Thai army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda affirmed on Wednesday that there has been no military movement along the Thai-Cambodian border by either side, but that in military terms the situation is not worrisome.

Gen Anupong said the military is closely monitoring the situation and avoiding cross-border confrontations after the arrival Tuesday in Phnom Penh of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra to lecture Cambodian economists on his first assignment as economic adviser to the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

He declined to comment on the visit to the Cambodian capital by Mr Thaksin, saying only that as a former Thai prime minister he should know what is appropriate and what is not.

As for Mr Thaksin’s interview with the Times daily in London, considered deeply offensive to the Thai monarch, Gen Anupong said the army will instruct all military personnel to not to redistribute or discuss the article as doing so has legal implications and might cause further problems.

The situation remains normal on the Cambodian border, Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd reported, and no special instructions have been received from the government or given by Army chief Gen Anupong.

Col Sansern said the people of the two countries have crossed border to do their business as usual.

On Thursday, he said, there will be a friendly football match between Thai and Cambodian soldiers at Phoomsarol village in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province which borders Cambodia.

The Army spokesman said the Thai military on border duty are placed according the framework assigned earlier, but the diplomatic spat is the responsibility of the government to address.

The extradition bid is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the armed forces has nothing to do with it, he said.

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday invited spokespersons from the army, air force and navy to be briefed on the diplomatic situation between Thailand and Cambodia and the government's stance on Mr Thaksin's interview with the Times newspaper, a report which is considered offensive to the Thai monarch, to clarify information about and understanding it.

The ministry earlier on Tuesday invited governors of seven provinces bordering Cambodia to be briefed on the situation and affirmed that despite implementation of diplomatic measures, relations between the two peoples would remain calm.