Published: 25/04/2011
Bangkok Post
Trade worth 15 to 20 million baht a day is being lost due to the closure of the Chong Chom border checkpoint in Kab Choeng district of Surin because of the renewed fighting on the border with Cambodia, a local business leader said on Monday.
A large quantity of good, particularly fuel, was held up on the Thai side of the border unable to cross to its usual destination in O-Samet in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, said Nanthawat Kijsakulpaisarn, secretary-general of Surin Chamber of Commerce.
Cross-border trade at this checkpoint was worth some 800 million baht annually. The closure was costing between 15 and 20 million baht a day in lost revenues, he said.
He called on the Thai and Cambodian governments to urgently hold talks to end the conflict.
The border crossing has been closed since Friday.
5 comments:
Last year we had the 'red shirt' debacle and now the international media is playing up a David versus Goliath passion play over the current border tensions.
As Cambodia is asking for United Nations and international intervention, the Thai messaging is coming out extremely negative and non conciliatory.
Another nearby neighbor Laos is coming under similar scrutiny over its damming of the Mekong River.
For Thailand brand equity for its tourism industry and far larger national identity are part and parcel of the same, and unfortunately in many cases sentiment rather than fact rules the roost.
Perhaps it's time to go through a rethink about the Amazing Thailand tagline.
but wouldn't the dams have geographical impact on the Mekong, effecting the livelihood of many? if so cambodia should be against this type of development wht do u think? 25 april 20118:05pm (plz give me your nick name) better then quoting time and dates lol
perthkhmerguy
perthkhmerguy
I quote from (the phuket insider.com)
http://www.thephuketinsider.com/tourism/brand-crises-cambodia-border-issue-hits-thai-image.php
I just looking for some thing regarding Thailand bad image I want to see how the world thinking I don't read BKP anymore I don't Read KI media I just support our boys in the frontline.
oh sorry bro/sis, its seem some foreigners are beginning to understand more of whats going on. well we all hope our guys get better equipment, not just one well armed guard brigade.
keep up the good work bro, and sorry for foulness lastnite.
perthkhmerguy
and bro heres the post regarding the indo military offer regarding the southern insurgency, before i was made fun of being thai. it's full paste.
if you can extract my post and place it together its located in indoniesian delays flight, u know which one
heres the post of offer of assistance.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/jakarta-military-offers-aid-to-thais/story-e6frg6so-1226042434178
JARARTA's MILITARY ASSISTANCE OFFER
INDONESIA'S Defence Ministry has made an open-ended offer to help Thailand deal with its Muslim separatist insurgency.
The offer was made at a meeting between the Indonesian and Thai defence ministers and military chiefs held in Jakarta on Monday.
An Indonesian spokesman said yesterday that Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha were interested in learning from Indonesia's experiences with the long-running Aceh insurgency, which ended in 2005.
"We have offered them any help they need," Colonel Hartind Asrin said yesterday.
While there was a general agreement to deepen bilateral defence co-operation, Colonel Hartind said there was no specific offer from the Indonesian side and no specific request from the Thais.
He noted that the southern problem was especially sensitive in Thailand at present with a bitterly contested national election looming. But military-to-military co-operation would be contentious at any time, given the Thai Buddhist majority's suspicions of foreign Islamic meddling in the insurgency and the Indonesian military's history of harsh dealings with separatism at home.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage
* Twelve dead in Thai-Cambodian fighting The Australian, 7 hours ago
* Thai-Cambodia border pain Adelaide Now, 18 hours ago
* Indonesian bomb suspect is a journalist The Australian, 2 days ago
* Fighting at Thai-Cambodian flash point The Australian, 2 days ago
* Thai south battles kill 3: police Adelaide Now, 19 Mar 2011
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
The separatist campaign in the majority ethnic Malay-Muslim provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani has been responsible for more than 4300 deaths since the resurgence of the movement in 2004.
Despite frequent alarms being raised about penetration by regional Islamic militants, the southern Thailand insurgency appears to have remained resolutely localised.
Colonel Hartind denied Bangkok reports that General Prawit had asked the Indonesians to monitor Muslim students from the three provinces bordering Malaysia for radical activities in Indonesia.
Thousands of young men from the border provinces study in Indonesia and, according to Thai reports, security authorities worry that some are getting militant training from Indonesian extremists.
"Many of southern Thailand's children are studying here, but they haven't asked us to watch them," said Colonel Hartind.
He said the main purpose of Monday's meeting was to discuss Indonesia's role in the risky Thailand-Cambodia border dispute, focused on the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex.
Indonesia, which is seeking to assert a regional leadership role during its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, has offered to mediate.
Jakarta's offer to send military observers to the border was endorsed recently by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Bu, embarrassingly, his Defence Minister and army chief insisted Indonesian troops would not be allowed into the disputed territory.
Monday's meeting appears to have been a fence-mending exercise; Spokesmen for both governments said later it was agreed the matter would now be handled by their foreign ministries.
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