Chief of staff of the Thai armed forces, Gen Manas Chandee, said today that, if Cambodia shows its sincerity in the search for peace by withdrawing all its troops from the border with Thailand to their original positions, “peace would be restored between the two countries.”
Gen Manas made the statement, which was posted on the Facebook page of the Royal Thai Armed Forces headquarters today, during his recent visit to Phu Makua mountain in the Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province.
The chief of staff said that talks about reopening border crossings between the two countries would be useless unless Cambodia withdraws its troops from the border first, to show its sincerity in wanting peace to be restored.
He alleged that Cambodia intensified the conflict by being the first to move its troops closer to the shared border, as he stressed that Thailand has no intention of trespassing on Cambodian territory.
He also said that he does not want to see the written agreements between Thailand and Cambodia being treated as just a non-binding pieces of paper.
Meanwhile, Pol Gen Tatchai Pitaneelaboot, the police inspector-general, will lead a delegation in talks with his Cambodian counterpart, at the General Border Committee meeting next Tuesday, on cooperation in cracking down on scam call centres in Cambodia.
He said today that he will submit a list of 50 targets to the Cambodian delegation, which are suspected to be shelters for call centres, adding that this will be an opportunity to test Cambodia’s sincerity.
