In a tit for tat move, Cambodia recalled its ambassador to Thailand Thursday, hours after a similar action by the Thai government.
Announcing the decision at a press conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said that its Ambassador in Bangkok, You Ay, would leave the country in response to the Thai move to recall its envoy.
Phnom Penh will reconsider the decision "When the Thai government resumes the mission of their ambassador to Cambodia," he added.
However, he made it clear that the diplomatic non-cooperation would not affect "bilateral relations."
The Thai government's action was in protest against Cambodia appointing fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as the government's economic adviser and personal adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The Thai Foreign Ministry announced that it is recalling Ambassador Pasas Pasasbinitchai protesting against Cambodia "interfering in Thailand's internal affairs."
Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni appointed Thaksin to the honorary posts last month at the request of Hun Sen
The appointment came almost two weeks after Hun Sen stoked up tensions with Thailand by offering asylum to Thaksin.
Ousted in a September 2006 coup, Thaksin fled to Britain in 2008, afraid of an "unfair trial" in a number of corruption and abuse-of-power cases charged against him by the government.
He is facing arrest warrant in Thailand for "inciting public disturbance and illegal assembly."
Ties between Cambodia and Thailand have been strained since June 2008 amid a border conflict over land surrounding an 11th century temple, which has claimed several lives.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com