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MILITARY commanders stationed near Preah Vihear temple said Sunday that construction of a new road (pictured) connecting Ko Muoy village 7 kilometres west of the complex is nearly complete and will make the transfer of troops to the Thai-Cambodian border area more efficient.

Yim Phim, commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 8, said workers had less than one full day of labour to complete the final 100 metres of the Ko Muoy road.

“This road is part of a military strategy to make troops more mobile and to get them to the front line more rapidly,” he said.

Also Sunday, Ten Navun, an officer for RCAF Battalion 404, said soldiers were continuing to build concrete trenches and buildings at the front line in Chom Ksan district, 7 kilometres east of the temple complex.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying that roads built by the Cambodian government near Preah Vihear temple did not necessarily belong to Cambodia.

At a press conference on Friday, Pen Ngoeun, an adviser to the Council of Ministers, criticised Thai officials for using a “unilateral map” to justify claims to disputed border territory.

He also said Thailand had ignored a 1962 ruling from the International Court of Justice asserting that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

“The truth is that Thailand still has ambitions to take Cambodian territory,” he said.

Officials at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached Sunday.

Monday, 05 October 2009
By Thet Sambath and Chhay Channyda
Phnom Penh Post