Thai-Cambodia in military standoff

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong asked Singapore, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to form a regional "inter-ministerial group ... to help find a peaceful solution to the current crisis and avoid military confrontation between the two ASEAN members."

In his letter to Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo late Monday, Hor Namhong asked that the group comprise the foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos.

"Thai troops with artillery and tanks are building up along the border, constituting a very serious threat not only to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia, but also to peace and stability in the region," he said in the letter seen Tuesday.

The ASEAN foreign ministers are holding their annual meeting in Singapore this week.

Several thousand Thai and Cambodian troops are to remain along their countries' shared border after Monday's talks failed to resolve a now eight-day dispute over land near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Representatives from both countries nevertheless reiterated their commitment to avoiding an armed conflict as the one-day meeting ended in the Thai-Cambodian border town of Aranyaprahet.

"The most important thing is to avoid a confrontation so that there is no violence," Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh told reporters, adding that "the temperature ... hasn't been reduced."

Thai Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niempradit refused to describe the talks as a failure, while insisting troops from both countries would remain near the temple but would "not use any violence or weapons."

The dispute over territory near Preah Vihear temple escalated earlier this month when UNESCO approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site.

Thailand sent troops to the border after anti-government demonstrators attacked Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government for supporting Cambodia's request to designate the temple. And Cambodia responded with its own deployment.

The Thai protesters claim the temple's new status will undermine their country's claim to 1.8 square miles around the temple.

"It is a deadlock at this point and that means the relationship between the two countries will go from bad to worse," Surachart Bamrungsuk, a security analyst at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of Political Science, said Monday about the failed talks.

Based on estimates by commanders and AP reporters on both sides of the border, more than 4,000 troops have been deployed around the temple and in the immediate vicinity since last Tuesday.

Still, the atmosphere appeared relaxed Tuesday, despite the close proximity of the two forces at the site.

Soldiers from both sides mingled casually. Some were lying in hammocks, while others sat on rocks swinging their legs with their weapons on their laps or on the ground near them.

"Nothing has changed. We have received orders to continue maintaining patience" after the talks failed, Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Tuesday.

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Associated Press writers Ambika Ahuja and Sutin Wannnabovorn in Bangkok, Thailand, Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and writer Sumeth Panpetch along the Thai-Cambodian border contributed to this report.