Thai PM:Government will give priority to national interest

BANGKOK, January 7 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has affirmed that her government will fight to protect national interest and sovereignty concerning a case related to the Preah Vihear Temple filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Cambodia. Yingluck insisted on Monday that the Thai government will attach more importance to national interest than her personal relations with her Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, confirming that her friendship with Hun Sen will not influence her administration to compromise on any Preah Vihear Temple-related issue. Asked for her comments on recent reports that she had discussed the Preah Vihear-related issues with Hun Sen but the Cambodian premier stood firm to continue with Cambodia’s legal complaints on the matters, Yingluck said that every country is to protect its own interest and her government will exercise diplomatic relations with neighbouring Cambodia to maintain peace along the common border. In response to a planned demonstration on her government’s stances on border issues related to the ancient Preah Vihear Temple, the Thai premier suggested that the issues not be politicized; while her government is doing the best to protect national interest. According to the prime minister, the matters are undergoing legal processes and her government has assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana, a legal expert, to handle the issues, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul. The prime minister revealed that a spokespersons’ team of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been set up tasked with publicly explaining and elaborating border issues related to the Preah Vihear Temple. (TNA)