THE Thai government has announced that it will deploy more than 5,000 soldiers and police officers to ensure the safety of regional leaders, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, at the First Mekong River Commission Summit in Hua Hin later this week.

Pimuk Simaroj, an assistant to Thailand’s minister of environment, said a committee has been set up specifically to oversee security for the summit. “The committee will evaluate the situation day by day,” The Nation newspaper quoted him as saying.

The four-day talks start Friday, and a Cambodian delegation led by Hun Sen is set to attend Sunday and Monday.

Hun Sen’s visit comes at a low point in relations with Thailand, after fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed as a Cambodian government adviser last year.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said that there were no plans for Hun Sen and his Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva, to hold bilateral talks during the meeting. “Up until now, there is still no schedule for the two countries’ prime ministers to meet,” he said.