Cambodia asks UN to convene on border dispute with Thailand

Cambodia has continued launching diplomatic bombshells on Thailand over Preah Vihear templeas it asked United Nations on Tuesday to conduct a special UN session to resolve the border stand off.

Its government spokesman has threatened to take the matter to the World Court again to decide the demarcation.

"In order to avoid armed confrontation" the country requests "an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to find a solution to the problem in accordance with international laws," the Cambodian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP earlier Tuesday that a third party was needed to help solve the standoff.

"Now we're working with Asean members to return the situation to normal. We may go to the court in The Hague again to demarcate the border," he said.

Meanwhile in Singapore, at the request of Cambodia, Asean countries met on Tuesday in a luncheon meeting to discuss the dispute over the controversial temple between Thailand and Cambodia.

The luncheon meeting was organised in the sideline of ongoing Asean ministerial meeting in Singapore.

"The talk over lunch has no agenda and will produce neither record nor outcome document of any kind," said Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Bunditkul, who led Thai delegation to the Asean meeting.

Singapore foreign minister George Yeo invited all ministers of Asean to the lunch after Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who was not in the Asean meeting, wrote to him and called for the formation of an Asean Inter-Ministerial Group comprising the foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos to help end the dispute with Thailand.

Thailand insisted that bilateral mechanisms remained their capability to solve the problem. "It's premature to push the issue to regional and international levels," said Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sahas.

Meanwhile Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said after the lunch meeting that the atmosphere had been "friendly" but he gave no indication progress had been made.

"Asean still insisted on the statement that the chairman put out Sunday evening that expects the two sides to find amicable solutions to the issues between them," he said.

"Asean still stands ready to (give) any support that the two sides want Asean to play. We can't go any further than that."