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Asean chair backs bilateral solution : The Thai-Cambodian border dispute must be resolved bilaterally, Indonesian Foreign Minister and current Asean chairman Marty Natalegawa said after meeting Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Tuesday.

Mr Natalegawa, who met Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong on Monday, said Thailand and Cambodia should settle their border dispute through two-party negotiations.

"But at the same time, there is always space for Asean and members of Asean to support the bilateral effort.

"Any engagement by Asean and by any individual country is not to replace the bilateral approach, but contrarily to support the bilateral approach," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister.

He said he got a clear message from Phnom Penh and Bangkok that both countries had a commitment to address this border conflict through peaceful means and dialogue.

"We are the family of Asean nations and there are ways and means for us to resolve whatever problems we have through negotiation and dialogue," Mr Natalegawa said.

He said both countries also said the situation had stabilised, but he would like to see the ceasefire be made more stable and consistent.

"Indonesia will be very happy if we are included in any conversation or any communication that the two governments may have on ways and means to ensure the continuity of ceasefire," he said.

Vietnam, another Asean member, has also called on Phnom Penh and Bangkok to end their border conflict around Preah Vihear temple through peaceful negotiations based on international law and the United Nations charter.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdee said Thailand and Cambodia will hold a round of talks on the border issue later this month.

Cambodia's ambassador to Thailand You Ay took a similar tone, saying the border issue should be settled peacefully at the bilateral level.

Speaking at the Couple of Love and Rival seminar on Tuesday morning, she said people should not politicise the border issue. It should be addressed at the bilateral level within the framework of the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

The border row would jeopardise regional cooperation in Southeast Asia, such as the single-visa agreement under the Acmecs (Ayeyawady - Chao Phraya - Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy) scheme, she said.

"Educators need to teach the true history of both countries to the young generation," she said.

The Cambodian envoy also urged the Thai public to be well aware of the neutral voices, which do not take sides and have good faith.

She said the Bayon temple, a World Heritage site in Siem Reap, has 54 towers each representing the 54 provinces of the ancient Khmer empire.

"Cambodia now has only 24 provinces, because 17 of the others are in Vietnam and 13 in Thailand.

"Thai and Cambodian people share the same DNA as a consequence," she said.

She said Cambodia had never thought about claiming its 13 former provinces in Thailand, as both countries must co-exist side by side.

The border issue stemmed from the different maps used by the two countries. Cambodia used La Carte de l’annexe I which was an integral part of the (border) treaty settlement and widely-accepted internationally, while Thailand used the map unilaterally produced during 1970-1975 during the time of the Kampuchea democratic government, she said.

In a time of peace, the Joint Border Committee was the suitable mechanism to deal with border dispute, but in the armed border conflicts like this, the multilateral mechanism such as the International Court of Justice should be the proper venue, said the Cambodian ambassador.

Cambodia's KI Media website reported that Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong told Mr Natalegawa that the Thai military began firing first in the four clashes on the border over the last few days.

The website reported that during the meeting with Mr Natalegawa in Phnom Penh yesterday Mr Namhong accused Thailand of instigating each of the four clashes, begining on Feb 4.

The Cambodian foreign minister said after the meeting that he told Mr Natalegawa that five Cambodian soldiers were killed and 45 others were injured, according to the website. People in disputed areas had been evacuated.

Since Feb 4 the border clashes have caused three deaths in Thailand, one civilian and two soldiers, and 25 injuries, with five Cambodians reported dead and 45 injured.

A Thai soldier who was seriously wounded during the Cambodian artillery shelling of Thailand on Sunday night was reported to have died at Sapphasithiprasong Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani province today.

Sgt Thanakorn Poonperm, 30, of Task Force 23, was admitted to the hospital after being wounded on Sunday night, when Cambodia fired artillery shells across a 5-kilometre stretch of the border between Non Ao and Phum Srol villages in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province.

He was pronounced dead on Tuesday.

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Pvt Songkran Thongchompoo, a Thai soldier who was captured by Cambodian troops during the fighting over the weekend was released on Tuesday morning.

Col Sansern said Pvt Songkran was handed over to the Thai military attache to Phnom Penh and the soldier was returning to Thailand.

There were no clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces overnight, the spokesman said.

Si Sa Ket governor Somsak Suwansucharit said about 16,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in villages along the Thai-Cambodian border. They were staying  at 40 holding centres.

The villagers would not be allowed to return to their homes until it is certain the situation has returned to normal, he said.

The governor said seven houses in border villages had completely burned down after being hit by shells during in the cross-border fire. The government will help build new houses for the families, Mr Somsak said.