DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Cambodia, Thai border clashes leave at least 5 dead, 14 injured” plus 9 more

PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, April 22 Kyodo - Cambodian and Thai troops engaged in four hours of clashes along their disputed border Friday morning, their biggest since February, leaving at least six soldiers dead and 16 injured on both sides.

Cambodia's defense spokesman Gen. Chhum Socheat told Kyodo News three Cambodian soldiers died and six others were injured in the fighting, which started at 5:55 a.m. along the border between Cambodia's Udor Meanchey Province and Thailand's Surin Province and continued until 10:10 a.m.

Thai military officials said at least three Thai soldiers were killed and 13 injured, and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told a press conference that Thailand would file a diplomatic protest with Cambodia over the latest clash later in the day today.

Thailand blames Cambodia for the clashes, saying they started when armed Cambodian troops crossed into demilitarized zone in defiance of warnings from the Thai side.

Cambodia says the fighting started when Thai troops approached two temples in disputed territory -- Ta Krabey and Ta Moan, which are known in Thailand as Taw Kwai and Ta Muen Thom, respectively.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong fired off letters to the heads of the U.N. Security Council and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in which he accused Thailand of ''blatant aggression'' in having launched a ''large-scale attack'' against Cambodia.''

He said several types of artillery were used by Thai forces and the shells landed deep inside Cambodia, causing many casualties, while Thai planes violated Cambodia's airspace.

Such actions, Hor Namhong said, violate understandings reached at an informal meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers held in Indonesia on Feb. 22 to ease cross-border tensions.

''This fresh military attack takes place in spite of intensive regional efforts by Indonesia, chair of ASEAN, supported by the UNSC to engender a permanent ceasefire and a peaceful solution, after Thailand's large-scale offensive against Cambodia last February,'' he said, referring to four days of border clashes that left at least 10 people dead and dozens wounded.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as ASEAN chair, called in a statement for the ''immediate cessation of hostilities'' between the two ASEAN members and urging the two sides to resolve their differences through peaceful means.

''The use of force has no place in relations among ASEAN member countries,'' he was also quoted as saying by Thai media.

Kasit told reporters he had explained Thailand's position to his Indonesian counterpart and asked him to distribute it to ASEAN's other members -- Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

He said Thailand still believes a bilateral solution to the military conflict is possible, and called on Cambodia to agree to resume meetings of the General Border Committee and related meetings as soon as possible to that end.

In his letter to the Security Council president, Hor Namhong called Thailand's insistence on a bilateral solution ''a pretext for using its larger and materially more sophisticated armed forces
against Cambodia,'' and vowed that Cambodia ''reserves the rights to self defense in the face of such deliberate acts of aggression.''
He said Thailand has attacked four previous times -- in July and October of 2008, April 2009 and last February -- ''to demonstrate its resentment of the inscription of Cambodia's Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List in July 2008.'' Preah Vihear, located about 200 kilometers east of the scene of Friday's fighting, was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, irking Thailand.
Since its inscription in 2008, Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over their overlapping territorial claims involving 4.6 square kilometers of land around the ancient temple.
The two countries earlier this year accepted an Indonesian proposal to send civilian and military observers to the border area to monitor the commitment of both sides to avoid further armed clashes, but the terms of reference have yet to be agreed upon.

Hor Namhong said Thailand's negative responses so far to the ASEAN chair's draft terms of reference, despite revisions made to accommodate its position, underscore Thailand's insistence on resolving the conflict bilaterally and through force. Kyodo

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Following are home news items to be covered or pursued by Xinhua on Friday:
1. SW China court hearing Beijing lawyer's case
2. China court announces sentence for student who stabbed victim to death after car crash
3. Xinjiang promises to bring home all vagabond children

TV News Magazine: CHINA VIEW
1. Click on Today
2. The path of Princess Wencheng
3. RMB goes global
Editor's Notes: China View from CNC World is a 30-minute daily English in-depth news program that brings global audience a panorama of what happens across China and face-to-face interviews over hot issues in China that interest people around the world.
Global viewers can tune into CNC English programs via Asia-Pacific Satellite-6 at 134 degrees east longitude, with parameters set as "6065MHz/3840MHz." The programs can also be viewed at www.cncworld.

SHANGHAI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese automakers have unveiled their ambitious environment-friendly car designs at the ongoing Shanghai Auto Show, but experts warn that there is a long way ahead before most families are driving green cars.
The Shanghai Auto Show, which opened to the public on Thursday, has gathered about 45 models of new environment-friendly vehicles - hybrid, electric and fuel cell - from both local automakers and their foreign rivals.
A Roewe 550 plug-in hybrid car displayed at the booth of the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), China's largest automaker by sales volume, is capable of conserving 50 percent more fuel, compared with its conventional version, according to the company.
Along with the Roewe 550 hybrid are four other energy-conserving vehicles: a Roewe 350 electric car, an E1 electric concept car, a plug-in fuel cell car and a concept car dubbed the Leaf.
SAIC plans to mass produce its Roewe 550 hybrid in 2012 and roll at least 50 plug-in fuel cell cars off assembly lines before 2015, president Chen Hong told a forum on the sidelines of the show, adding that the company aims to control 20 percent of the green car market by 2015.
SAIC's major competitor, FAW Group from northeast China's Jilin Province, brought nine new green vehicles to the show.
The country's second-largest automaker plans to spend 9.8 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) on developing 16 environment-friendly passenger and business models by 2015, chairman Xu Jianyi said at the show.
Zhu Fushou, the newly appointed president of China's third-largest automaker, Dongfeng Motor Corp. (DMC), announced at the show that his company was planning to launch its first electric car next year.
Zhu expected the company's electric car sales to reach 100,000 units by 2015, accounting for two percent of the company's total sales of 5 million vehicles.
As these major automakers in China are ready to embrace the automotive industry's new era, auto experts, however, warn that there are quite a few hurdles to overcome before alternative fuel vehicles, electric cars in particular, hit the road in large numbers.
One major consideration for green vehicles is their exorbitant price, said Hou Bo, director of the automotive department with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. (DTTL).
A dual mode electric vehicle, F3DM, produced by China's privately-owned automaker BYD Auto, is priced at 169,800 yuan, almost double that of the traditional engine-powered version of the F3 car.
"The prices of electric cars are far above consumers' expectations, and Chinese car buyers will not pay too much for a green car," Hou said.
A recent survey by market researcher Synovate China shows that more than 40 percent of Chinese buyers think that prices of electric car parts and components are too high to accept.
Others think that recharging an electric car conveniently is more important. More than half of the interviewees think that it is still very difficult to recharge an electric car, which would hinder their purchase, according to Synovate's survey.
Some consumers are more hopeful about the future of green cars.
Feng Xiao, dean of the China-Germany Engineering College of Tongji University, predicted that new energy vehicles will hopefully account for five to ten percent of the entire auto market within three to five years.
"The era of alternative fuel vehicles is coming soon," Feng said.
In a bid to foster a better environment for the industry, the Chinese government has taken various measures to support the use of environmentally efficient vehicles.
China has carried out experimental programs on the use of these vehicles in 25 pilot cities across the country, while buyers of green vehicles in five cities, including Shanghai, Changchun, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Hefei, will receive subsidies as high as 120,000 yuan from both the central and local governments.
The Beijing municipal government is also mulling preferential policies toward the use of green vehicles. For example, people who buy these types of cars would not have to take part in the car plate lottery that limits the number of new cars sold every year to 240,000 to ease the capital city's gridlock.
The biennial Shanghai Auto Show, the 14th since its inauguration, attracted about 2,000 car and parts makers from 20 countries, showcasing 75 new car models, of which 19 made their world premieres.
On Thursday, an estimated 700,000 people visited the show, which will last to April 28.

SHANGHAI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Participants in the ongoing Shanghai Auto Show 2011 believe that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan will hamper the production and expansion plans of some transnational automakers, but that in the long run the disasters' effects on the global market will be limited.
Reports indicate that leading Japanese carmakers Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. have relocated part of their vehicle production facilities, but that most of Japan's auto parts manufacturing remains at home. Some of the major Japanese components suppliers have shut down production facilities, threatening supply chains for downstream manufacturers at home and abroad.
Li Hui, vice general manager with GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., a Sino-Japanese joint venture based in southern China's Guangdong Province, said at the Auto Show that the company managed to maintain normal production in April, but output in May and June will be uncertain.
Toyota's latest company statement says that the company plans to resume production at all of its plants from April 18 to 27, with daily production to remain at half of the pre-quake level.
Toyota spokesman Masami Doi said that Toyota has been unable to purchase approximately 150 types of components and parts. Doi stated that he did not know when the disrupted supply chain would be restored and when vehicle manufacturing would return to normal; therefore, Toyota currently has no expansion plans.
Further, company sources said that all of Honda's assembly lines resumed production on April 11, but its parts suppliers could only provide parts at 50 percent of pre-tsunami levels.
Seiji Kuraishi, who is in charge of Honda's operations in China, said at the Auto Show that he expects no suspension of production for Honda's assembly lines in China before the end of May, since stored parts will be available to meet production needs.
Nissan said that all of its assembly facilities in Japan resumed production on March 24, but at half capacity, and its parts suppliers have not yet resumed normal provision of supplies.
The disrupted parts and components supply chain has also begun to affect some transnational vehicle manufacturers based in other countries, particularly hampering their expansion plans.
Christoph Stark, President and CEO of Greater China BMW Group, said that many BMW products have been in short supply, not only in China, but also in Germany, Britain and the United States. It will be difficult for the German automaker to meet the demand for the time being. Production expansion is imperative yet will be hampered by the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan, as the manufacturing of some electronic parts have been affected, according to Stark.
Donald J. Stebbins, Chairman and CEO of Visteon, the world's leading auto parts supplier, said that the company has production facilities in Japan that were affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Most industry insiders worry that Japanese carmakers' production will shrink substantially in 2011. Some insiders believe that auto manufacturers from emerging economies will snatch some of the lost market share. Those in the industry also predict that the earthquake and tsunami disasters will have only a limited impact in the long run on the global auto industry as a whole.
Jia Xinguang, an independent industry expert in China, says that some Japanese key parts producers have decided to shift manufacturing to other Asian countries, which will help expand auto production in Asia.
It is noteworthy that over the past few years, demand has continued to grow rapidly in China, India and Brazil, according to Jia. Last year, emerging markets accounted for one third of the world's total auto output, he noted, and the proportion is expected to rise annually.
John Moulton, a vice president with Johnson Controls (China) Investment, a subsidiary of the world's leading auto components supplier which is based in the United States, said at the Auto Show that his company was confident about the Chinese market's huge development potential.  He also believes that the disasters' effects on the Chinese market will be limited.
The Shanghai Auto Show 2011 has attracted about 2,000 car and parts makers from some 20 countries and regions around the world. The eight-day event will conclude on April 28.

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares closed lower in the morning session Friday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.07 percent to 3,024.58.
The Shenzhen Component Index declined 0.06 percent to 12,791.14.

CHONGQING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Prosecutors in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality dropped charges Friday against Beijing lawyer Li Zhuang, who was accused of encouraging a witness to fabricate evidence.
Prosecutors announced the decision at a trial Friday morning as they believed there were doubts in the charges against the lawyer, who was previously convicted last year on similar charges and is currently serving a sentence of 18 months in prison.
Li, 49, is a lawyer with the Beijing Kangda Law Firm. Li was charged with instructing Xu Lijun, a witness in his client Meng Ying's trial, to give false testimony in court during an embezzlement trial.
According to prosecutors, the evidence the defendant showed during previous hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday conflict with the prosecution's evidence.
The court granted the withdrawal of charges.

XI'AN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Yao Jiaxin, a university student who murdered a young mother after accidentally running into her with his car in October 2010, was sentenced to death on Friday by a court in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Yao, 21, a student at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, ran into cyclist Zhang Miao while driving his Chevrolet Cruze at around 10:30 p.m. on October 20 last year. Fearing that Zhang would remember his license plate number and report him, he stabbed her to death, according to the Intermediate People's Court of Xi'an.
The court also handed down a life-long revocation of Yao's political rights in Friday's instance judgement and ordered Yao to pay 45,498.50 yuan (about 6,983 U.S. dollars) in compensation to Zhang's family.

PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, April 22 - Cambodian and Thai troops exchanged fire along their disputed border area Friday morning, with Thai media reporting that at least one Thai soldier was killed and five injured.

Each side blamed the other for initiating the fighting, as has typically the case in the several rounds of border clashes that have

occurred since 2008, Phay Siphan, spokesman of Cambodia's Council of Ministers, told Kyodo News the clashes started at around 6 a.m. when Thai troops approached two disputed temples along the border between Cambodia's Udor Meanchey Province and Thailand's Surin Province.

He alleged that Thai troops moved 300-500 meters inside territory claimed by Cambodia, with the clash starting at Ta Krabey

and spreading to Ta Moan, as the temples are known in Cambodia, and two other spots. The temples are known in Thailand as Ta Kwai and Ta Muen Thom, respectively.

 

Thai army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told Kyodo News the clashes occurred when Thai soldiers patrolling in the area came under artillery attack from Cambodian soldiers, and returned fire.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi, however, said the clashes started when Cambodian troops crossed the borderline, in defiance of warnings from the Thai side, and opened fire.

Thai media quoted hospital officials as saying that, besides the Thai soldier who died, at least two of the five injured Thai soldiers

were in serious condition.

Cambodian military sources at the scene said fighting was continuing as of 10 a.m., though it had faded in intensity.

Two Cambodian soldiers injured, but not critical, the source said. Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over their

overlapping territorial claims, including 4.6 square kilometers of land around the Preah Vihear, an ancient temple was registered as a World Heritage site in 2008.

That temple, which is located about 200 kilometers east of the scene of Friday's fighting, was awarded to Cambodia by the

International Court of Justice in 1962.

The last major border clash, in February, left at least 10 people dead and dozens wounded in four days of fighting. Kyodo