Cambodia asks UN to intervene in 'imminent state of war' with Thailand

A Cambodian soldier carrying a rocket launcher as he walks past a Thai soldier on Tuesday outside a Buddhist pagoda Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. (Heng Sinith/The Associated Press)

By Seth Mydans

BANGKOK: Calling a border confrontation with Thailand "an imminent state of war," Cambodia asked the United Nations and its Southeast Asian neighbors to intervene Tuesday as hundreds of soldiers faced each other for the eighth day on the grounds of a disputed temple.
A bilateral meeting on Monday failed to resolve the standoff and troops from both sides remained camped at the ancient Hindu temple, Preah Vihear, that perches on the edge of a cliff that divides the two nations.
"In the face of this imminent state of war, this very serious threat to our independence and territorial integrity, we have an obligation to resort to the United Nations Security Council," said Foreign Minister Hor Namhong of Cambodia.
He said the Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations submitted the request on Monday for an emergency meeting of the Security Council to find a solution based on international law.
Hor Namhong spoke at a meeting in Singapore of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and asked his colleagues in the regional grouping to also try to help find a solution to the confrontation, the latest event in a long-running dispute between the two nations.
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"Thai troops with artillery and tanks are building up along the border, constituting a very serious threat not only to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia, but also to peace and stability in the region," he said in a letter addressed to George Yeo, the foreign minister of Singapore, which is leading the regional meeting.
A Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tharit Charungvat, said that Cambodia was within its rights to appeal to the Security Council but that "we believe that bilateral options are still not exhausted."
Thai troops were dispatched to the border after a small group of Thai protesters entered the temple grounds last week, and Cambodian soldiers were deployed to confront them.
The dispute comes at a delicate time for both nations as Cambodia heads toward a general election on Sunday and a shaky government coalition in Thailand is coming under harsh attack from its opponents, who are using the issue as a political weapon.
Sovereignty over the 11th-century temple has been in dispute since the withdrawal of French colonial rulers in the 1950s. The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, over the objections of Thailand.
The issue flared again last month when Unesco designated the temple a World Heritage Site based on a request from Cambodia and using a disputed map provided by Cambodia.
Thailand's political opposition accused the Thai government of failing to join Cambodia in its request for a listing and of failing to object to the map, which was based on one drawn up by the French in 1907.
The disagreement focuses on 4.6 square kilometers, or 1.8 square miles, of land adjacent to the temple that was not specifically addressed by the International Court ruling.
The political opposition in Thailand argues that the temple's new status, and the inclusion of the disputed map, could undermine the country's claim to sovereignty over the temple.
A resolution is complicated by the involvement of the opposition coalition of pro-democracy campaigners and royalists called the People's Alliance for Democracy, which is using the issue to pressure the Thai government.
A leader of the alliance, Jamlong Srimuang, said by telephone that it would stand back now and watch the government's performance.
"It's the government's job to take care of this problem," he said. "We are just the messenger."