Cambodia's PM Hun Sen might skip Asean summit in Thailand

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday he might skip next month's summit of the Asean in Thailand because of dissatisfaction with the arrangements of the host

country.

Hun Sen's remarks came a day after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced another change of venue for the delayed Asean summit along with a change of format, saying it would not be held back-to-back with meetings between Asean leaders and those from Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand as is normally the case.

Hun Sen said that what Thailand proposes would necessitate him visiting the neighboring country at least three times this year, including once to attend the Asean summit, now set for Feb. 27 to March 1 in the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin, and again in late April for the meetings with leaders of Asean's so-called dialogue partners in a location yet to be announced.    

The Asean summit was originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok in mid-December. But massive antigovernment protests in the Thai capital prompted the Thai government to change the venue to the northern city of Chiang Mai before deciding Dec. 2 to postpone it.

Cambodia and Thailand have a tense relationship, as seen in fighting that erupted along disputed areas of their border last year.