Bangkok  - The Thai cabinet on Tuesday agreed to reduce its military presence around the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border, but stopped short of ordering a complete retreat.

"We will reduce our forces to sufficient number to handle the situation to lessen the tension," said government spokesman Wichianchot Sukchotrat. He declined to mention the number of troops to be withdrawn or the date of the withdrawal. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen insisted that Thailand make the first move in withdrawing troops from the temple, perched on a cliff that defines the border between Si Sa Khet and Preah Vihear provinces in Thailand and Cambodia, respectively. Thailand posted an estimated 400 troops in the vicinity of the ancient Hindu temple, which was declared a World Heritage Site last month despite protests from Bangkok.

Cambodia has an estimated 1,000 troops in the area.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over ownership of Preah Vihear since the late 1950s. In 1962 the International Court of Justice at the Hague ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, although the judgment is still controversial because the border area around the temple complex is not clearly defined.

Thailand attempted to block the listing of Preah Vihear as a UNESCO site on the argument that a 4.6-square-kilometre area adjacent to the temple is in a disputed zone claimed by both sides.

UNESCO approved the listing of the temple complex, but not the disputed territory.

The border dispute took a military twist on July 17, when three Thai nationals were detained by Cambodian authorities for crossing into the zone. Thailand then dispatched troops to the area. Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag agreed with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong last week that both sides would redeploy troops from Preah Vihear to ease tension and pave the way for a diplomatic solution to the spat, which is part of a long-delayed effort to clearly define the two countries' common border. "Definitely the two foreign ministers will meet again soon," said Thai Foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat. "We're just waiting to set a convenient time."

Cambodia indicated that it will not be ready to reconvene talks until next month, after a new government is set up.

Thailand played down Cambodia's claim to yet another historic site, the 13th-century Hindu temple Ta Meun Thom.

Over the weekend Cambodian politicians claimed that Thai troops had occupied the temple.

"Actually, Thailand has had a few soldiers in this area for the past 10 years, so this is nothing new," Tharit said. (dpa)