Thailand and Cambodia said on Friday a recent diplomatic row will not lead to conflict on their heavily armed common border where troops have clashed in deadly exchanges in the past year, according to Reuters. Relations deteriorated after the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from a graft conviction, as an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who infuriated Thai authorities by hosting Thaksin this month. Cambodia rejected Bangkok"s request to extradite Thaksin, who was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for violating a conflict-of-interest law in Thailand. "Thai and Cambodian armed forces will support every mechanism between the two countries to improve ties," Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan told a news conference after meeting his Cambodian counterpart in Pattaya, southeast of Bangkok. "The highest goal would be the safety of the public and sustainable peace at the border," he said after a two-day meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee, a forum that meets a few times a year to discuss military ties. The two countries recalled their ambassadors in the Thaksin row and Cambodia arrested a Thai engineer working for Cambodia Air Traffic Services, accusing him of sending Thaksin"s flight schedule to a Thai diplomat, who was expelled by Phnom Penh. The row raised concerns that tension may escalate, leading to more armed clashes at the border. But following Thaksin"s departure from Cambodia, officials on both sides of the border have been more measured and deliberate in their comments and Thailand held back on plans to freeze low-interest loans to its neighbour. "Cambodia will not do anything that would affect the public in both countries. We will avoid any action that would lead to a conflict between the two countries," Cambodian Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh told the news conference.
