Cambodia says soldier killed in brief border skirmish with Thai troops

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BANGKOK (Reuters) -A Cambodian soldier was killed on Wednesday, its defence ministry said, after a brief exchange of gunfire with Thai soldiers at a disputed border area between the two Southeast Asian neighbours.

The incident took place early on Wednesday at a border area between Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province, both countries said, adding their troops had since stood down and would use diplomacy to handle this issue. 

Deadly clashes between Cambodia and Thailand last erupted in 2011 over Preah Vihear, an ancient temple at the heart of a decades-long dispute on their undemarcated border.  

“Thai army first opened fire on a trench that had been a Cambodian army base for a long time, resulting in the loss of one of our soldiers,” Cambodia’s defence ministry said in a statement.

Thailand said its soldiers were trying to negotiate with Cambodian troops to back away from taking up a position in a disputed area but came under fire, Thai army spokesman Major General Winthai Suvaree said, adding there were no Thai casualties. 

“Cambodian forces misunderstood the situation and started using weapons, so Thai forces retaliated,” Winthai said adding that the exchange lasted about 10 minutes.

Although the two countries have a historic rivalry, their governments enjoy warm ties, partly due to the close relationship between their influential former leaders, Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodia’s Hun Sen, whose daughter and son respectively are both prime ministers.  

Earlier this month, security officials from both countries met in Bangkok to try to reduce border tension after a February incident in which a group of Cambodians escorted by troops sang their national anthem at an ancient Hindu temple claimed by both sides, before being stopped by Thai soldiers.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Lach Chantha in Phnom Penh)