BANGKOK: Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to Phnom Penh benefits both the ousted Thai leader and his Cambodian host, but could drag the two countries back into a simmering border conflict, analysts said.

Thaksin, wanted at home for a graft conviction, arrived in Cambodia yesterday to take up a government job offer. He is expected to give a lecture tomorrow and it was not clear how long he would remain in the country.

Golfing buddies in their spare time, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thaksin are using the row over the ex-Thai PM's appointment as an economic advisor to settle scores with the current Thai government, they said.