Thailand seeks 'amicable' resolution to border dispute

Beijing: Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, heading into talks on Friday with his Cambodian counterpart in Beijing, said he wanted an amicable solution to recent border clashes.

Somchai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe summit which is focused on the global economic crisis.

Thailand "hopes to solve the problem peacefully and amicably," Somshai told reporters, repeating a line used by both leaders in the past.

A Thai soldier died on Tuesday from wounds sustained on October 15 in a 40-minute firefight near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which is claimed by both countries. Three Cambodian soldiers were also killed.

It was the most serious border clash in years but tensions have now eased and both sides have said they do not expect any escalation in the conflict.

Hun Sen said last week there was no need for outsiders such as the United Nations or the Association of South East Asian Nations to get involved in the dispute.

The hilltop Preah Vihear temple has stirred nationalist passions in both countries for generations.

The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since, but it failed to determine the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the Hindu ruins.