Posts Tagged ‘Tea Banh’
Cambodia holds troop withdrawal ceremony at Preah Vihear…who blinked first?
PREAH VIHEAR (Cambodia Herald) – Cambodia held Wednesday a troop withdrawal ceremony presided over by Defense Minister Tea Banh.
The withdrawal of 485 troops from around the Preah Vihear Temple followed a meeting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Siem Reap last Friday.The Office of the Council of Ministers said the government decided to withdraw troops from the Provisional Demilitarized Zone in accordance with a ruling by the International Court of Justice in July last year.
In the first step, troops will be pulled back from Chon Der Neak (Dragon Stair) Market, the North and West Ancient Stairs and from Keo Sikha Kiri Svara temple. The troops will be replaced by 355 police and security guards.
At the same time, Cambodia is celebrating the fourth anniversary of Preah Vihear Temple being recognized as a World Heritage site.
In addition to Tea Banh, Preah Vihear National Authority Chairman Choch Phoeun was attending the ceremony along with General Neang Phat, General Chea Da and Major General Kheng Someth.
The ceremony was scheduled to conclude around 11:00 am with the release of doves and balloons.Thai troops occupied Preah Vihear Temple four years ago, leading to the closure of the local border crossing and a series of deadly clashes between the two sides.
កម្ពុជាចង់ឱ្យតំបន់អាស៊ានក្លាយជាតំបន់គ្មានសង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិល
Cambodia unclear about Thaksin’s visit this week: defense minister
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Tea Banh said Wednesday that he was not sure about the visit of Thailand’s ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Cambodia later this week.
“I am unclear about his visit,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I also see the reports in the Thai media, but it is unclear.”
Tea Banh’s remark came after The Nation newspaper on Wednesday quoted a source inside Pheu Thai Party, claiming that Thaksin is expected to be in Cambodia for two days from Friday, and he will take some foreign investors to meet and play golf with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Defense Minister Tea Banh to make the business deal.
Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he was unaware of Thaksin’s visit to Cambodia later this week.
“However, for Cambodia, Thaksin can come to Cambodia at anytime in accordance to his wish,” he told Xinhua on Wednesday.
Thaksin is a close friend of Hun Sen. He used to be the economic advisor to Cambodian government and to Prime Minister Hun Sen from November 2009 to August 2010.
Cambodia invites new Thai defense minister for official visit
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) — Cambodia on Wednesday invited newly appointed Thai Defense Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha to make an official visit to Cambodia in an effort to restore military relations between the two neighbors.
In a congratulatory letter to Yuthasak Sasiprapha on Wednesday, Cambodia’s Defense Minister Tea Banh said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to cordially invite you and defense delegation to pay an official visit to Cambodia at your appropriate time in order to strengthen and promote bilateral relations between our two defense forces.”
Tea Banh congratulated Yuthasak for being appointed as Thailand ‘s defense minister and hoped that cooperation between the two countries, especially, in military affairs would be strengthened and expanded.
Cambodia and Thailand have had strained relations since 2008, soon after Cambodia’s ancient temple of Preah Vihear was registered as a World Heritage site.
This strained relations were worsen and turned to fierce fighting between the two armed forces that resulted in the loss of lives on both sides, while hundreds of thousands of civilians from both sides were evacuated.
