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OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0814 2771215
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 031215Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9956
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 2323
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0131
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L PHNOM PENH 000814 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D, P, EAP/MLS, DS/IP, DS/IP/EAP, DS/TIA/PII 
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS, INR/GGI- R. MILEFSKY 
BANGKOK FOR POL - D. GREENBERG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2018 
TAGS: PREL ASEC KTIA MOPS TH CB
SUBJECT: SHOOTING INCIDENT NEAR PREAH VIHEAR 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, A.I. PIPER CAMPBELL. 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  A Royal Cambodian Government (RGC) 
official who leads border negotiations with Thailand reported 
a "clash between the two sides" the afternoon of October 3 in 
disputed territory near the Preah Vihear temple resulting in 
the wounding of one Cambodian soldier.  The source called the 
report from the Ministry of Defense preliminary and details 
remain sketchy.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected 
to lodge a formal protest with the Thai embassy.  It is too 
early to tell how the government will treat the incident in 
the local press; past less-violent altercations at Preah 
Vihear have been kept quiet or been downplayed although 
Thai-Cambodian issues have, in the past, inflamed public 
opinion and led to riots.  No new bilateral border talks have 
been scheduled, although officials have been telling the 
local press that Prime Minister Hun Sen will raise the border 
issue during the October 13 visit by Thai Prime Minister 
Somchai Wongsawat.  Charge will continue to urge restraint by 
the government in response to this latest incident.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Details of the incident have already surfaced in 
the international press.  Phay Siphan, Secretary of State in 
the Council of Ministers, confirmed to us that the Thai fired 
upon the Cambodian soldiers with M-79 rockets and M-16 
rifles.  The Cambodians responded with B-40 rockets and AK-47 
machine guns.  The firefight lasted about five minutes, he 
told us.  Phay Siphan said the Thai unit was comprised of 
about 30 soldiers, the Cambodian unit about 17. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Var Kim Hong (strictly protect), Senior Minister and 
Chairman of the RGC Joint Border Commission, reported the 
clash to A/DCM late October 3 noting that the information was 
preliminary.  He said that at about 3:00 p.m. a Cambodian 
mobile patrol walking along Phnom Trap (Trap Mountain) west 
of the Preah Vihear temple complex entered an area previously 
called "prohibited" by the Thai.  The Thai soldiers spotted 
the Cambodian unit and "opened fire on the Cambodian 
soldiers," he said.  In a follow-up call, Var Kim Hong 
confirmed that one Cambodian solider was shot and wounded and 
that the Cambodian unit had responded by firing a B40 rocket 
at the Thai.  He stated that the area in which the dispute 
occurred is claimed by both sides on their respective maps. 
The source did not have details and was quick to call the 
report "preliminary." 
 
¶4.  (C)  Var Kim Hong noted that the matter was being handled 
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that the MFA planned 
to file a formal note of protest with the Thai embassy in 
Phnom Penh.  Phay Siphan added that MFA Secretary of State 
Long Visalo was handling the matter.  In the meantime, DPM 
Sok An was seeking to keep the RGC response muted and police 
were boosting security in order to keep in check any 
potential public over-reaction, said Phay Siphan. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Charge is seeking out MFA interlocutors over the 
weekend to inquire about the RGC response and to urge 
continued restraint. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Var Kim Hong passed the news of the incident after 
noting to A/DCM that the Cambodian side had not yet confirmed 
any of the additional bilateral talks which had been 
discussed in August between the Thai and Cambodian Foreign 
Ministers.  These include further talks at the Foreign 
Minister level, talks between military negotiators to discuss 
modalities to "re-deploy" troops away from the disputed 
border territory, and the convening of the Joint Border 
Commissions from the two sides to continue technical talks on 
the border. 
 
¶7.  (C)  COMMENT:  In the recent past, the RGC has played 
down altercations along the border and has managed public 
press coverage so as not to stir up public opinion.  We 
don,t know if recent displays of impatience with the 
on-again-off-again bilateral talks have changed that general 
low-key posture. END COMMENT.) 
CAMPBELL