Thailand and Indonesia agree to boost ties

Thailand would fully cooperate with Indonesia, which is handling the matter for Asean, Yingluck said in a meeting with Yudhoyono in Jakarta.

Indonesia was the second country the new PM paid an official visit to, to introduce herself to her Asean counterparts. Her first port of call was Brunei on Saturday, and she will visit Cambodia on Thursday, then Laos on Friday.

In a joint press statement in Jakarta, Yingluck and Yudhoyono said Thailand and Indonesia would boost cooperation in trade, energy and agriculture.

Indonesia was interested in cooperation on the halal food industry, Yingluck said.

Indonesian trade with Thailand rose by 34 per cent in 2010 to $US12 billion, Yudhoyono said.

"We believed that there would still be new opportunity to boost trade cooperation," he said.

Both sides also pledged to step up cooperation in tackling illegal fishing, combating transnational crimes, and increasing the number of foreign tourist arrivals, Yudhoyono said.

Yudhoyono said Indonesia would beef up role in the settlement of border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. Indonesia supported Thai prime minister's plan to visit Cambodia in coming days, said Yudhoyono.

Indonesia, as the chair of Asean, planned to dispatch its observer team to assess situation and monitor troop withdrawal at the border disputed area adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

Thailand and Cambodia are at the loggerhead over the temple for long time but the recent conflict erupted when Phnom Penh managed to list the Preah Vihear as a world heritage site in 2008 with Thailand disagreement.

The Preah Vihear, ruled by the International Court of Justice in 1962, is situated in territory under sovereignty of Cambodia but Thailand argued that the temple's vicinity belongs to Thailand.

Cambodia asked the ICJ in April to interpret scope and meaning of the 1962 judgement. The court is now in the process of interpretation of the ruling. While pending for the interpretation, the court issued a provisional measures on July 18 ordering both countries to withdraw their respective military personals from the court determined demilitarised zone.

Both Thailand and Cambodia so far have not yet reached any agreement how to comply with the court's injunction.