Cambodia, Thailand deploy troops to disputed border

Cambodia and Thailand have massed troops on their disputed border region surrounding an 11th century temple - despite agreeing to hold talks next week to avoid military action.

The standoff - which entered its fourth day on Friday - is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict over land that surrounds Preah Vihear temple, which is similar in style to the more famous Angkor Wat in northeastern Cambodia.

The confrontation came to a head last week when UNESCO approved Cambodia's application for World Heritage Site status for Preah Vihear. Protesters in Thailand have decried their government's decision to endorse the application, saying it undermines Thai claims to the territory.

They have also accused Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of bypassing Parliament and backing the UNESCO application in exchange for business contracts for the cronies of toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Constitutional Court has ruled in the protesters' favour.

To some extent, the demonstrators appear to be playing to nationalist sentiment to gain support for their larger goal of unseating Samak, whom they accuse of being a proxy for Thaksin.

The border standoff began after three of the protesters crossed into Cambodia on Tuesday to visit the temple and were briefly detained.

Soon afterward, Thai troops deployed to the border. The army has been tightlipped about reasons behind the troop movements, saying only that it is protecting Thai sovereignty, though it's unclear why it thought it was threatened.