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SINGAPORE: ASEAN held crisis talks with member states Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday over an armed border standoff which is threatening to escalate into an unprecedented test for the regional bloc.
The unscheduled talks took place behind closed doors during annual ministerial meetings here as Cambodia called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to defuse the crisis which flared last week.
"The border engagement is not only relevant in terms of the problems that we see between the two states but also could be a test for ASEAN," Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told reporters.
"For the first time now two of its members are facing what we call a border predicament."
More than 500 Thai troops are facing off against at least 1,000 Cambodian soldiers around a small Buddhist pagoda on disputed land near the ruins of an ancient temple, which belongs to Cambodia.
No shots have been fired since the long-running dispute erupted into a military standoff last Tuesday, but senior ASEAN officials said they were concerned it was escalating dangerously.
"Over the lunch there will be a meeting. Both countries have tried (to end the standoff) and one interpretation is that the situation has calmed down and is under control," ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said.
"Another interpretation is that it is escalating, so the ministers will look to hear what is the real situation."
The meeting comes after bilateral talks Monday failed to resolve the dispute over border land near the ruins of an 11th-century Hindu temple.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia but the most accessible entrance lies in Thailand and the surrounding land remains in dispute, stirring nationalist sentiment in both countries.
Tensions flared last week when three Thais tried to enter the temple, and both sides stationed troops around a small Buddhist pagoda on a mountain slope leading to the temple ruins.
ASEAN ministers refused to comment but lower officials said they were "having difficulties agreeing" on a final statement.
The ministers said late Sunday, at the start of their annual talks here, that they had received assurances that both sides would show "utmost restraint."
But after nearly eight hours of closed-door meetings in an eastern Thai town on Monday, the two countries agreed only that force must not be used to resolve the crisis.
The Cambodian foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday that "to avoid armed confrontation" it was seeking an "emergency meeting" of the UN Security Council.
"Both sides accepted the encouragement to exercise restraint and the hope was pinned on the border mechanism... which met (Monday)," Surin said.
"I think the situation has not got worse. Whether or not it is still a dangerous situation... that is what we would like to find out."
Rais said the two sides should "exercise utmost restraint" in the "spirit of ASEAN," which is founded on consensus-building and dialogue between countries with varying levels of development and political systems.
He said the situation on the Thai-Cambodia border had descended into a "stalemate position."
The crisis talks came a day before a meeting of Asia's main security forum, featuring ASEAN plus 17 partners including the United States and China, which is expected to be dominated by efforts to disarm North Korea.
- AFP/yb
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