Editorial by Khmerization
As I have predicted, the Preah Vihear talk in Sakeo on Monday, the 21st of July, had ended where it had begun and failed miserably. The primary reason was the failure of the Thai side to recognise the 1904 and 1907 treaty between the two countries. I am not surprised with the failure as the negotiation had ended the way I had predicted it would end. What I am surprised was that the Cambodian chief negotiator, Gen. Tea Banh, did not insist on the Thai withdrawal from the occupied zone first as a condition for any further negotiation.(Read full details of the talk here).
Cambodia cannot negotiate with Thailand while the guns were pointing at its head. For any meaningful negotiation to take place, the occupied Thai forces have to be withdrawn to the pre-occupation period and that is pre-15th July. The glorious achievement, as both sides have excitedly declared, was the agreement to keep both forces where they are now without engaging in any military actions. This agreement is an insult to the intelligence of the Cambodian people as it will benefit Thailand greatly because they are the occupying forces and therefore, when they are allowed to stay in the area they had militarily occupied, it means that they have achieved their original aims, which were to occupy and remain in that zone.
Cambodia had been tricked to agree to allow Thai forces to remain in the disputed zone. To agree to leave the forces where they are now is tantamount to recognising the de factoThai occupation of the area.
Cambodia cannot be complacent about the Thai tactic. Thailand would want to prolong the negotiation so it can solidify its position in the eyes of the international community. The longer the negotiation drags on, the better Thailand would position itself and the more international community would lose momentum and interests in the conflict. If this is to happen, Cambodia would have an uphill battle to win this dispute diplomatically and, to a certain extent, legally. Cambodia must move forward very quickly in its diplomatic drives in order to keep this issue on the ASEAN and UN agenda. To vacillate any action would give Thailand an advantageous edge and that would be a suicide for Cambodia.
Cambodia had taken the first positive step when Foreign Minister Hor Namhong accepted the offer of mediation from ASEAN, after the talk had failed. Next, if the ASEAN mediation failed, Cambodia must not hesitate in bringing this issue to the UN Security Council. If the UN mediation failed, the next step would be the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Coming back to the negotiation, I would suggest that Cambodia discontinues its negotiation with Thailand any further because it is a game that Thailand had used to appease Cambodia and world opinion. It is Thailand’s tactic to win international opinion and to prolong its occupation of the “disputed zone”. Cambodia should negotiate with Thailand only after Thailand had withdrawn its troops from the occupied zone. On top of this, any negotiation to settle any border disputes with Thailand must be based on the maps of the 1904 and 1907 treaty between the two countries because it is the only treaty that Cambodia and Thailand had ever concluded. To use any other maps would be against international practices and is tantamount to surrendering Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to Thailand. Cambodia must be firm on this.//
“The longer the negotiation drags on, the better Thailand would position itself and the more international community would lose momentum and interests in the conflict. If this is to happen, Cambodia would have an uphill battle to win this dispute diplomatically and, to a certain extent, legally. Cambodia must move forward very quickly in its diplomatic drives in order to keep this issue on the ASEAN and UN agenda. To vacillate any action would give Thailand an advantageous edge and that would be a suicide for Cambodia.”
As I have predicted, the Preah Vihear talk in Sakeo on Monday, the 21st of July, had ended where it had begun and failed miserably. The primary reason was the failure of the Thai side to recognise the 1904 and 1907 treaty between the two countries. I am not surprised with the failure as the negotiation had ended the way I had predicted it would end. What I am surprised was that the Cambodian chief negotiator, Gen. Tea Banh, did not insist on the Thai withdrawal from the occupied zone first as a condition for any further negotiation.(Read full details of the talk here).
Cambodia cannot negotiate with Thailand while the guns were pointing at its head. For any meaningful negotiation to take place, the occupied Thai forces have to be withdrawn to the pre-occupation period and that is pre-15th July. The glorious achievement, as both sides have excitedly declared, was the agreement to keep both forces where they are now without engaging in any military actions. This agreement is an insult to the intelligence of the Cambodian people as it will benefit Thailand greatly because they are the occupying forces and therefore, when they are allowed to stay in the area they had militarily occupied, it means that they have achieved their original aims, which were to occupy and remain in that zone.
Cambodia had been tricked to agree to allow Thai forces to remain in the disputed zone. To agree to leave the forces where they are now is tantamount to recognising the de factoThai occupation of the area.
Cambodia cannot be complacent about the Thai tactic. Thailand would want to prolong the negotiation so it can solidify its position in the eyes of the international community. The longer the negotiation drags on, the better Thailand would position itself and the more international community would lose momentum and interests in the conflict. If this is to happen, Cambodia would have an uphill battle to win this dispute diplomatically and, to a certain extent, legally. Cambodia must move forward very quickly in its diplomatic drives in order to keep this issue on the ASEAN and UN agenda. To vacillate any action would give Thailand an advantageous edge and that would be a suicide for Cambodia.
Cambodia had taken the first positive step when Foreign Minister Hor Namhong accepted the offer of mediation from ASEAN, after the talk had failed. Next, if the ASEAN mediation failed, Cambodia must not hesitate in bringing this issue to the UN Security Council. If the UN mediation failed, the next step would be the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Coming back to the negotiation, I would suggest that Cambodia discontinues its negotiation with Thailand any further because it is a game that Thailand had used to appease Cambodia and world opinion. It is Thailand’s tactic to win international opinion and to prolong its occupation of the “disputed zone”. Cambodia should negotiate with Thailand only after Thailand had withdrawn its troops from the occupied zone. On top of this, any negotiation to settle any border disputes with Thailand must be based on the maps of the 1904 and 1907 treaty between the two countries because it is the only treaty that Cambodia and Thailand had ever concluded. To use any other maps would be against international practices and is tantamount to surrendering Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to Thailand. Cambodia must be firm on this.//
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