Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has asked France to provide historical documents to help resolve a long-running border dispute with Thailand, which twice ended in armed conflict last year, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
PM Hun Manet wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, asking for access to any historical and technical documents that France may have relating to the border, and also welcomed French expertise and advisory support, the foreign ministry said in a statement dated February 4, Al Arabiya reported from Reuters (5/2).
The 817 km (508 mile) border was first mapped by France in 1907, when Cambodia was still a colony, and is based on natural river basins that separate the country from Thailand.
The disputed territory includes several famous historic sites, including the 11th-century Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, known by the Thais as Khao Phra Viharn.
The French Embassy in Cambodia and the Thai Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to separate requests for comment.
Cambodia also welcomed France's "constructive engagement" in efforts to resolve the long-running dispute, the prime minister said, according to the statement.
PM Hun Manet said President Macron had indicated a willingness to help in a previous meeting.
The fighting between the two Southeast Asian neighbors broke out in July last year after weeks of tension sparked by the death of a Cambodian soldier in clashes in late May.
After five days of clashes that killed 43 people, the conflict ended with a fragile ceasefire brokered in Malaysia after intervention by US President Donald Trump.
The hostilities continued in December and lasted more than three weeks, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire.
A total of 101 people were killed and more than half a million people were displaced on both sides before a new ceasefire was announced on December 27.
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