New Delhi: A day after India deemed the toppling of a Hindu deity’s statue by Thai forces near their disputed border with Cambodia as ‘disrespectful’ and ‘hurting the sentiments of followers around the world’, Bangkok said its move was motivated by security and not religious imperatives.The demolition of the statue, reportedly of Vishnu and located along the border between Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, was filmed and circulated online on Monday (December 22) amid continuing clashes between the two sides.India said on Wednesday that while the incident occurred in an area affected by the border dispute, “such disrespectful acts hurt the sentiments of followers around the world and should not take place”. Its statement did not specifically refer to Thai forces’ role in the demolition.Noting that “Hindu and Buddhist deities are deeply revered and worshipped by people across the region as part of our shared civilisational heritage”, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also called on both sides to “return to dialogue and diplomacy” and “avoid any further loss of lives, and damage to property and heritage”.Some social media accounts also reacted negatively to the incident.However, Thailand said on Thursday that it toppled the statue in order to establish control over the surrounding area and “[prevent] the use of structures and symbols that could be exploited to lead to further tension”.In a statement, the ‘Joint Press Centre on the Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation’ said that Thai forces’ “actions taken to remove the said structure were not motivated by religion, belief or any intent to disrespect sacred symbols or any faith”. “The operation was carried out solely as part of area administration and security management, following the restoration of control over Thai sovereignty,” it added.“Thailand holds deep respect for all religions and belief systems, including Hinduism, which shares longstanding historical and cultural connections with countries across Southeast Asia,” the press centre said. It also conveyed its “sincere regret for any discomfort that may have arisen from misunderstandings due to the circulation of images without full context”.Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul denied that the statue’s toppling could be considered an act of ‘desecration’.“A destroyed statue cannot be compared with the limbs our soldiers have lost, nor can it be compared with acts of desecration. I would not make such a comparison at all,” the Bangkok Post quoted him as saying.Cambodia on the other hand has claimed that the statue, which it said was built in 2014, was located on its land. “We condemn the destruction of ancient temples and statues that are worshipped by Buddhist and Hindu followers,” AFP quoted a provincial spokesperson as saying.Embroiled in a renewed round of clashes across their long-disputed border starting earlier this month, Thailand and Cambodia resumed talks towards a more lasting ceasefire at a border checkpoint on Wednesday. The talks were scheduled to take place until Saturday.After a ceasefire mediated by Malaysia and the US in July, and formalised in October, broke down in the first week of this month – both sides have blamed each other – dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.The area where the statue was felled on Monday is not far from the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex located on a cliff just across the border in Cambodia, which became caught in the cross-fire of the border clashes.Following reports of conservation facilities at the complex suffering damage, the MEA had taken note of the “unfortunate” development on December 12.New Delhi and Bangkok share a memorandum of understanding under which Archaeological Survey of India officials help with the conservation of the 11th-century Hindu temple complex.