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Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has criticised his Cambodian counterpart for saying Thai trespassers will be shot if they go near a disputed temple on the border.

Earlier Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had ordered his troops to shoot anyone from neighbouring Thailand who crosses onto land around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

"If they enter again, they will be shot," Hun Sen told officials.

"Troops, police and all armed forces must adhere to the order ... for invaders, shields are not used but bullets are used," the PM said in the speech at the opening ceremony for Cambodia's new Ministry of Tourism building.

Hun Sen's comments came a little over a week after Thai protesters rallied near the ancient temple, the site of clashes that have killed seven soldiers since tensions flared last year.

Mr Abhisit says Hun Sen wants to retaliate for the Thai protests on September the 19th.

He says Thailand still wants to find a peaceful solution to the dispute over the temple through a joint border commission set up by the two countries.

Claims attacked

Hun Sen has also lambasted Thailand's claim to the disputed land around the temple, inviting it to raise the issue at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting next month.

Cambodia and Thailand have been arguing over the land around the temple for decades, but tensions spilled over into violence last July when the temple was granted United Nations World Heritage status.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
ABC Radio Australia