A military delegation lead by Royal Cambodian Armed Forces General Neang Phat left for Thailand yesterday to prepare for a two-day meeting between their respective defense ministers later this month.
Speaking with reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport, Gen. Phat, a member of the joint Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC), said Defense Minister General Tea Banh was set to meet with his Thai counterpart in Thailand for the 9th GBC on May 16 and 17.
He said drug trafficking, illegal border crossings and other transboundary crimes would be at the top of their agenda. “We will review what we have done well and what we need to improve and work together on,” he said. “We work together to ensure peace and stability along the border.”
Gen. Phat said the defense ministers would discuss joint demining along the border, including inside a demilitarized zone around Preah Vihear temple ordered by the International Court of Justice in 2011.
The meeting will take place as both countries await the court’s decision later this year on which of them owns disputed land next to the temple.
