Thai military trucks with soldiers are driven to the Thai-Cambodia border for reinforcement in this still image taken from video April 22, 2011 (Reuters/Reuters TV)
Friday, 22 April 2011
By Chhay Channyda/Reuters
Phnom Penh Post
THAI and Cambodian soldiers fought with rocket-propelled grenades and guns on their contentious border on Friday in a dawn clash that left at least five troops dead in the first major flare-up since a shaky ceasefire in February.
Both sides evacuated villagers and accused each other of firing first in the thick jungle around Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, about 150 kilometres southwest of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which saw a deadly stand-off in February.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said the fighting broke out after Thai troops fired on their Cambodian counterparts around 6 AM on Friday near Ta Krabey temple, about 15 kilometres from Ta Moan temple in Oddar Meanchey province.
The government was still tallying the final damage on Friday, but preliminary reports said three Cambodian soldiers were killed, he added. Shelling and artillery fire were continuing intermittently as of Friday afternoon.
“We did not start this fight,” Phay Siphan said. “We cannot accept this act. It is not what Cambodia wants, and it affects our Ta Krabey temple.”
“They are trying to take advantage by fighting and encroaching on Cambodia. They have breached the principles of our agreement in Indonesia,” Phay Siphan added, referring to talks between the two sides following their clashes in February in which they agreed to accept Indonesian military observers to preserve the fragile ceasefire at the border. These observers have yet to arrive due to Thailand’s hesitance to grant them final approval.
Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat said Thai shells had landed more than 20 kilometres inside Cambodian territory. Ceasefire talks between the two sides had not yet begun as of yesterday afternoon, he added.
Thailand, claimed, meanwhile, that Cambodia had started the fight.
"Cambodia started attacking our temporary base with artillery fire and we responded to defend ourselves," said Lt. General Thawatchai Samutsakorn of the Thai army. "Tensions have eased for now, but both sides are holding position."
Two Thai paramilitary rangers were killed and seven wounded, said Thai armyspokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong, claiming that fighting began after Cambodian troops altered a bunker in the area in violation of a ceasefire pact. The Bangkok Post, meanwhile, reported Friday afternoon that four Thai troops had been killed and eight wounded.
"When warned, Cambodian troops stepped closer and started firing," Sirichan said.
As a precaution, the Thai government evacuated about 7,500 villagers from the area. Cambodian authorities evacuated about 200 families, according to local officials.
The fighting is the most severe since three Thais and eight Cambodians were killed and dozens of people wounded over Feb. 4-7 in the bloodiest fighting in nearly two decades.
As part of a ceasefire deal, Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Feb. 22 to allow unarmed military observers from Indonesia to be posted along their border.
But that arrangement -- brokered by a meeting of Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Jakarta -- has yet to be put in place. Thailand's military said international observers were not required.
Chhay Mao, a major in the Cambodian army stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said the fighting had not spread to the ancient clifftop temple. "It is quiet at Preah Vihear now but we are ready at our side," he said.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country currently holds the chair of ASEAN, urged both sides to halt hostilities.
"I call for both sides to resolve their differences through peaceful means. The use of force has no place in relations among ASEAN member countries," he said, according to the Bangkok Post.
The Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Friday saying that it supported the mediation efforts by Indonesia’s Natalegawa, who contacted both sides following the clashes.
“Indonesia, as ASEAN Chair, has been actively facilitating dialogue between the two countries to resolve their differences peacefully,” the statement read. “This is important for the long term relationship of Cambodia and Thailand, as well as in the broader interests of ASEAN.”
In a letter to the United Nations Security Council dated Friday, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called the clashes "a fresh act of aggression" by Thailand.
"The most recent aggression against Cambodia also confirms the reason behind Thailand's insistence on resolving the conflict 'bilaterally', which is a pretext for using its larger and materially more sophisticated armed forces against Cambodia," Hor Namhong wrote.
Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in a standoff since July 2008, when UNESCO enshrined Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site for Cambodia over Thai objections.
But the reasons behind this year's deadly skirmishes are murky.
Some analysts say hawkish Thai generals and their ultra-nationalist allies, who wear the Thai king's colour of yellow at protests, may be trying to create a crisis that would bring down Thailand's government or create a pretext to stage a coup and cancel elections expected in June or July.
Others say it may be a simple breakdown in communication at a time of strained relations.
Friday, 22 April 2011
By Chhay Channyda/Reuters
Phnom Penh Post
THAI and Cambodian soldiers fought with rocket-propelled grenades and guns on their contentious border on Friday in a dawn clash that left at least five troops dead in the first major flare-up since a shaky ceasefire in February.
Both sides evacuated villagers and accused each other of firing first in the thick jungle around Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, about 150 kilometres southwest of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which saw a deadly stand-off in February.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said the fighting broke out after Thai troops fired on their Cambodian counterparts around 6 AM on Friday near Ta Krabey temple, about 15 kilometres from Ta Moan temple in Oddar Meanchey province.
The government was still tallying the final damage on Friday, but preliminary reports said three Cambodian soldiers were killed, he added. Shelling and artillery fire were continuing intermittently as of Friday afternoon.
“We did not start this fight,” Phay Siphan said. “We cannot accept this act. It is not what Cambodia wants, and it affects our Ta Krabey temple.”
“They are trying to take advantage by fighting and encroaching on Cambodia. They have breached the principles of our agreement in Indonesia,” Phay Siphan added, referring to talks between the two sides following their clashes in February in which they agreed to accept Indonesian military observers to preserve the fragile ceasefire at the border. These observers have yet to arrive due to Thailand’s hesitance to grant them final approval.
Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat said Thai shells had landed more than 20 kilometres inside Cambodian territory. Ceasefire talks between the two sides had not yet begun as of yesterday afternoon, he added.
Thailand, claimed, meanwhile, that Cambodia had started the fight.
"Cambodia started attacking our temporary base with artillery fire and we responded to defend ourselves," said Lt. General Thawatchai Samutsakorn of the Thai army. "Tensions have eased for now, but both sides are holding position."
Two Thai paramilitary rangers were killed and seven wounded, said Thai armyspokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong, claiming that fighting began after Cambodian troops altered a bunker in the area in violation of a ceasefire pact. The Bangkok Post, meanwhile, reported Friday afternoon that four Thai troops had been killed and eight wounded.
"When warned, Cambodian troops stepped closer and started firing," Sirichan said.
As a precaution, the Thai government evacuated about 7,500 villagers from the area. Cambodian authorities evacuated about 200 families, according to local officials.
The fighting is the most severe since three Thais and eight Cambodians were killed and dozens of people wounded over Feb. 4-7 in the bloodiest fighting in nearly two decades.
As part of a ceasefire deal, Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Feb. 22 to allow unarmed military observers from Indonesia to be posted along their border.
But that arrangement -- brokered by a meeting of Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Jakarta -- has yet to be put in place. Thailand's military said international observers were not required.
Chhay Mao, a major in the Cambodian army stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said the fighting had not spread to the ancient clifftop temple. "It is quiet at Preah Vihear now but we are ready at our side," he said.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country currently holds the chair of ASEAN, urged both sides to halt hostilities.
"I call for both sides to resolve their differences through peaceful means. The use of force has no place in relations among ASEAN member countries," he said, according to the Bangkok Post.
The Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Friday saying that it supported the mediation efforts by Indonesia’s Natalegawa, who contacted both sides following the clashes.
“Indonesia, as ASEAN Chair, has been actively facilitating dialogue between the two countries to resolve their differences peacefully,” the statement read. “This is important for the long term relationship of Cambodia and Thailand, as well as in the broader interests of ASEAN.”
In a letter to the United Nations Security Council dated Friday, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called the clashes "a fresh act of aggression" by Thailand.
"The most recent aggression against Cambodia also confirms the reason behind Thailand's insistence on resolving the conflict 'bilaterally', which is a pretext for using its larger and materially more sophisticated armed forces against Cambodia," Hor Namhong wrote.
Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in a standoff since July 2008, when UNESCO enshrined Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site for Cambodia over Thai objections.
But the reasons behind this year's deadly skirmishes are murky.
Some analysts say hawkish Thai generals and their ultra-nationalist allies, who wear the Thai king's colour of yellow at protests, may be trying to create a crisis that would bring down Thailand's government or create a pretext to stage a coup and cancel elections expected in June or July.
Others say it may be a simple breakdown in communication at a time of strained relations.
8 comments:
I'm Thai. I would say that this is such a tragedy to the Thai and Cambodian civilians living nearby the battle field. I think this is due to the difficulties of internal Thai political issues leading this unnecessary and awful military movements at the border. Almost all Thais really want to stop this, but it seems some persons don't, because of their stupid political benefits. I really want things stop very soon, and no one has to die for this unreasonable military attack.
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8:48PM
not much Thai people can do anything have to come from the top if the head not order the tail not move .
My heart just go to the people along the the border we have enough war we don't want war but very unfortunate really we have to fight to defend our land .
We strengthen our military buy all the big rockets that we can find for protecting our nation sovereignty .
All the generals should go the frontline to protecting our territory if any general fail to show up sack the bloody bastard .
Thai medias very quiet it must be really serious they don't know what to say .
8:48 PM, If you are really Thai, you are one of the few moderate Thais. I hope Thai military leaders and Thai politicians think about the interests of their nation and people and start to solve the border problem through peaceful means, instead of the military threats and intimidation that have been employed by the Thai side so far. The two countries have legal mechanism to deal with such issue. The 1904-1907 treaty, the 1908 map, the 1962 international court verdict are legal instruments that can resolve the border peacefully. Just because Thailand is powerful militarily and economically, it does not means that it can go around and bully Cambodia to gain advantage over border territory. It doesn't work like that. Just go through the legal instruments above, send in survey and technical teams to the border, find existing border markers and erect new ones using the documents agreed above. If both countries respect each other, problems would not exist. The problem is the bigger country, in this case Thailand, try to bully the smaller country, in this case Cambodia, to settle the dispute on its term. It is sad.
Look like ah thai or siam come to get khmer scrap metal. Let them come!
I am Thais at 8:48 PM again. I believe one of problems leading the conflict at the border is that the right-wing people in Thailand are trying to initiate the stupid nationalism and trying to raise the contradictory map and Preah Vihear issues to the Thais who sadly receives one-side news (sort of government propaganda or something) from the government and strictly speaking, some Thais believe that Khmer is not well behaved and trying to make the war. Such a humiliation to my home country, and I can't do anything except watching stupid commanders bring their solider to death. Further, the MP and military are trying to solve the problems with uneducated ways and make us (Thais) as a foolish to the international society. The fact is that many young, educated and modernized Thais really hate to attack other by military forces, but the right-wing people throning the Thai society and the government house try to shut the mouth of many Thai liberal who prefer to solve and get through all problem by professional science, technology and nice and proper ambassador ways.
Nowadays, many educated Thais don't like military people since these people in green uniform troubles Thais and democracy in Thailand again and again, and many Thais like me sick of it to the ways these no brain, but force, military rule my country as a boy toy.
Last but not least, on behalf of Thais, I would like to express that we have never and ever supported any violent action to other country and never look down other nations whether big or small country. We share the same world, this is it. Again, I really want all conflicts to be solved as the educated and professional ways; not by force to trouble people living near the border.
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