The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations failed to
resolve a simmering border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand during
an emergency meeting Tuesday.
Diplomats said both countries presented their side of the issue during a lunch meeting, but no progress was made.
Cambodia
has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to
mediate the military standoff with Thailand over disputed territory
around a historic temple.
The appeal to the world body Tuesday
came a day after talks between top defense officials from Thailand and
Cambodia failed to end the stalemate.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for both sides to exercise restraint.
Both countries have voiced willingness to peacefully resolve the territorial dispute.
The
dispute centers on ownership of about 4.6 square kilometers
of land surrounding the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. An estimated 4,000 troops are facing off near the ancient Hindu temple.
Tensions
flared last week, when Thai soldiers crossed the border to follow three
Thai protesters trying to reach the temple. The protesters were
detained for illegally entering Cambodia but were later released.
The
U.N. cultural organization, UNESCO, recently approved Cambodia's
application to name the Preah Vihear temple a World Heritage site. The
move renewed a decades-old dispute over who owns the temple and the
land around it.
The International Court of Justice granted
Cambodia sovereignty over the temple in 1962, but did not rule on which
country owns the surrounding land.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
