BANGKOK, 21 July 2012 – Supreme Commander Gen.Thanasak Patimaprakorn has expressed his confidence that the Border Patrol Police will perform efficiently at the disputed Preah Vihear border zone. He confirmed Thailand would not lose sovereignty after military personnel were withdrawn from the Thai-Cambodian overlapping area.
Gen.Thanasak said on Friday that the International Court of Justice ruled that Thailand and Cambodia must withdraw troops from the border zone on 18 July 2011 or a year ago. He said Thailand must abide by the court’s order to show cooperation, adding that the country’s refusal to pull back troops might affect the next trial in 2013.
Thailand has replaced army officers at the disputed area with Border Patrol Police forces and Cambodia has reciprocally done the same. The Supreme Commander said he believed in the ability of the Thai Border Patrol Police in taking care of the border situation since they had been continuously trained with the military.
The Thai-Cambodian Joint Working Group (JWG) will make sure that Thailand and Cambodia abide by the court’s order. The JWG works under the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee whose resolutions on the Preah Vihear border dispute will be submitted to Parliament for approval according to Section 190 of the Constitution.
