Prawit: GBC should come after JBC

4/04/2011
Bangkok Post

Thailand and Cambodia should first hold a Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting, and the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting could then follow, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Monday.

Gen Prawit said he wants the JBC to be separate from the GBC.

The JBC meeting should be held first and its outcome could be discussed later at the GBC meeting, which is not urgent, he said.

Indonesia has invited Thailand and Cambodia to hold both GBC and JBC meetings at Bogor, east of Jakarta, on April 7-8.

The foreign ministries of Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to attend the JBC, but the defence ministries of the two countries have not been able to agree on the GBC meeting. The GBC is chaired by the respective defence ministers; the JBC by the foreign ministers.

While Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh has insisted in holding the 8th GBC in Bogor, with Indonesia acting as mediator, Thai Defence Minister Prawit has said he will definitely not go to Indonesia and that the GBC should be bilateral only, attended by soldiers of the two countries and held only in either in Thailand or Cambodia.

"I don't understand why Tea Banh wants Indonesia to be the middleman. The existing problems are between the two countries, which enjoy good relations. Why must another country be involved?" Gen Prawit said.

On the military presence along the border, Gen Prawit said he had no intention of talking to Cambodia over possible reductions or redeployments of troops and heavy weapons in and around the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area.

He said soldiers of both sides should stay where they are for now, but they must be careful to avoid misunderstandings or use of force.

"What I want is peaceful co-existence," Gen Prawit said.