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BANGKOK - Thailand's government Saturday denied that its forces had provoked a border skirmish which left three soldiers injured and accused Cambodian troops of intruding into Thai territory.
On Friday Cambodian officials said more than a dozen Thai soldiers had crossed into disputed territory near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
But Thailand's foreign ministry blamed its neighbour and said the three-minute exchange of gunfire came after Cambodian troops trespassed.
"They had encroached about one kilometre (more than half a mile) into Thai territory," foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said in a statement.
The statement said that on Friday at around 3:45 pm (0845 GMT), a Thai military unit patrolling the border area, about one kilometre west of the Preah Vihear temple, came across a Cambodian military unit.
Thai soldiers first attempted to negotiate a withdrawal and were leaving to report to their commander when the Cambodian soldiers opened fire, it said.
But according to Cambodia, Thai troops had been turned back by Cambodian soldiers and Thai soldiers were the first to open fire.
Two Thai soldiers were injured in the exchange, and one Cambodian soldier's hand was hit.
Thai officials said the incident had been contained with high-level military officials on both sides agreeing to establish closer contact to prevent any repeat.
They said Cambodian officials had agreed to investigate.
The incident comes as both countries attempt progress in talks to resolve the decades-long border dispute.
Tensions flared in July after the ancient Khmer temple of Preah Vihear was awarded world heritage status by the UN cultural body UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who still claim ownership of the site.
Those tensions turned into a military standoff, in which up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops faced off for six weeks.
Both sides agreed to pull back in mid-August, leaving just a few dozen soldiers stationed near the temple. - AFP/vm
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