Cambodian officials have denied a request from Thailand to reopen a disputed border checkpoint at Preah Vihear temple, but have agreed to a proposal to open a new checkpoint about nine km from the original border crossing.
“We did not talk about the reopening of the Preah Vihear checkpoint because [we were at a] stalemate,” said Preah Vihear province Governor Preap Tann, who led a delegation that spent Monday and Tuesday in Si Sa Ket province in Thailand discussing the issue with Thai authorities.
Thai authorities closed the Preah Vihear border checkpoint Dec 17 after Thais complained that Cambodian villagers at a nearby market were polluting their water supply. At the meeting in Si Sa Ket, Thai officials said it was actually Thai soldiers in the area who shut down the checkpoint, said a Cambodian official who attended the meeting.
Cambodian and Thai provincial authorities are still waiting for their respective governments to approve the new border crossing, which is scheduled to be built at Tathav, according to Preap Tann.
He said Preah Vihear provincial authorities sent a proposal to the national government suggesting a road be built connecting the Tathav border crossing to Preah Vihear temple and continuing another 80 km into the province.
