Standoff holds after Cambodia-Thai border clash

Tensions eased but troops remained wary Sunday at the disputed Thai-Cambodian after gunbattles left two soldiers dead, Cambodian soldiers said.

Troops could be seen chatting and some even stowed away their weapons, but they said they remained ready to fight after their Friday clash -- the biggest burst of violence for months in a feud over territory near an ancient temple.

"The situation is not escalating, but if the Thais try to enter the banned area something might happen. If they don't come, there will be no problems," commander Bun Thean told AFP Sunday.

Soldiers exchanged rocket, machine-gun and mortar fire on Friday near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the frontier, following a brief skirmish earlier in the day, officials from both sides said.

Thai and Cambodian commanders planned to meet at their disputed border Sunday and eat lunch together in attempt to further calm tensions, Cambodian soldiers said.

The area was the scene of several clashes last year after Cambodia successfully applied for United Nations world heritage status for the ruins in July, with four soldiers killed in a battle there in October.

The countries have been at loggerheads over the site for decades.

One Thai soldier died at the site of the clash Friday and another died in hospital later, while 10 others were injured, said the Thai military.

Cambodian officials reported they suffered no casualties.

Nine soldiers were still being treated in two hospitals in the northeast Thai city of Ubon Ratchathani, two of them in a critical condition, said the Thai army.

Despite the violence, Cambodian premier Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva sought to play down the latest crisis.

Both countries have said border committee talks would proceed along with meetings scheduled at a key regional summit next week.

The premiers are due to take part in a summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and key regional partners in Thailand from April 10.

In 1962 the World Court awarded the ruins to Cambodia, but the most accessible entrance is in Thailand, and landmines cover much of the disputed land.