Agence France-Presse
First Posted 7th May, 2011
Read Hun Sen's speech here.
JAKARTA—A summit of Southeast Asian leaders focusing on economic integration took a dramatic turn Saturday when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) blasted his Thai counterpart over a bloody border dispute.
Hun Sen took the floor of the closed-door opening session of the two-day summit in Jakarta and accused Thailand of attacking its neighbor in a contested border area near an 11th-century Khmer temple, attendees said.
One foreign minister described the fiery Cambodian leader as "quite aggressive" and observers said the assembled Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders were surprised at the outburst.
"It became a little dramatic, but I think that's just the way that Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers speeches," Philippine presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters after the encounter: "We had a frank discussion this morning."
"We need to resolve the problem because we don't want this to be a problem that would affect ASEAN's agenda on community building," he added.
The border spat was not on the formal agenda of the two-day summit but it is overshadowing discussions on ASEAN's long-term efforts to create a closely integrated regional economic zone by 2015.
Other issues on the table include food and energy security, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the scourge of human trafficking and East Timor's membership bid.
But even before the presidents and prime ministers of the disparate 10-nation bloc sat down in Jakarta's cavernous convention center, their discussions had been framed by negative news from troubled member states.
Myanmar stole the headlines on Friday when ASEAN officials announced that the military-led country -- which is under Western sanctions for serial human rights abuses -- had asked to chair the group in 2014.
US-based Human Rights Watch said ASEAN, already struggling for credibility, would become the "laughing stock of intergovernmental forums" if it granted the request.
ASEAN leaders are meanwhile facing mounting pressure to help end the Thai-Cambodian conflict, which has claimed 18 lives and temporarily displaced 85,000 people in weeks of clashes.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke of the dangers of rising food and energy prices, climate change and unrest in the Middle East during his opening remarks.
But without mentioning the Thai-Cambodian row, he also reminded his fellow leaders that ASEAN could no longer use the bloc's long-held principle of non-interference to shirk the need to resolve conflicts between member states.
"We realize that to ensure a peaceful and stable East Asia region, we must ensure stability and security in our region," the ex-general said.
"If conflict occurs, ASEAN must be capable of facilitating a forum for diplomacy and open dialogue with the intent of attaining common peace."
ASEAN's halting efforts to negotiate an end to the clashes are being closely watched as a litmus test of its soaring ambition to create an integrated regional community in just four years' time.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa met his counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia in Jakarta on Friday and said they had agreed to accept Indonesian military observers at the disputed frontier.
But he said the modest observer mission, which would have no power to police a ceasefire, had yet to be dispatched because of stubborn differences over troop locations.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters that Phnom Penh would never agree to Bangkok's demands to pull troops out of the Preah Vihear temple.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to ASEAN to help solve the problem peacefully," he said.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said there was little enthusiasm among ASEAN leaders for the conflict to be internationalized with direct UN involvement, as Cambodia has sought.
"I think what all the other ASEAN leaders have been saying this morning is that we should keep the conflict within the ASEAN family," he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have publicly backed ASEAN's mediation role.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
JAKARTA—A summit of Southeast Asian leaders focusing on economic integration took a dramatic turn Saturday when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) blasted his Thai counterpart over a bloody border dispute.
Hun Sen took the floor of the closed-door opening session of the two-day summit in Jakarta and accused Thailand of attacking its neighbor in a contested border area near an 11th-century Khmer temple, attendees said.
One foreign minister described the fiery Cambodian leader as "quite aggressive" and observers said the assembled Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders were surprised at the outburst.
"It became a little dramatic, but I think that's just the way that Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers speeches," Philippine presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters after the encounter: "We had a frank discussion this morning."
"We need to resolve the problem because we don't want this to be a problem that would affect ASEAN's agenda on community building," he added.
The border spat was not on the formal agenda of the two-day summit but it is overshadowing discussions on ASEAN's long-term efforts to create a closely integrated regional economic zone by 2015.
Other issues on the table include food and energy security, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the scourge of human trafficking and East Timor's membership bid.
But even before the presidents and prime ministers of the disparate 10-nation bloc sat down in Jakarta's cavernous convention center, their discussions had been framed by negative news from troubled member states.
Myanmar stole the headlines on Friday when ASEAN officials announced that the military-led country -- which is under Western sanctions for serial human rights abuses -- had asked to chair the group in 2014.
US-based Human Rights Watch said ASEAN, already struggling for credibility, would become the "laughing stock of intergovernmental forums" if it granted the request.
ASEAN leaders are meanwhile facing mounting pressure to help end the Thai-Cambodian conflict, which has claimed 18 lives and temporarily displaced 85,000 people in weeks of clashes.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke of the dangers of rising food and energy prices, climate change and unrest in the Middle East during his opening remarks.
But without mentioning the Thai-Cambodian row, he also reminded his fellow leaders that ASEAN could no longer use the bloc's long-held principle of non-interference to shirk the need to resolve conflicts between member states.
"We realize that to ensure a peaceful and stable East Asia region, we must ensure stability and security in our region," the ex-general said.
"If conflict occurs, ASEAN must be capable of facilitating a forum for diplomacy and open dialogue with the intent of attaining common peace."
ASEAN's halting efforts to negotiate an end to the clashes are being closely watched as a litmus test of its soaring ambition to create an integrated regional community in just four years' time.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa met his counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia in Jakarta on Friday and said they had agreed to accept Indonesian military observers at the disputed frontier.
But he said the modest observer mission, which would have no power to police a ceasefire, had yet to be dispatched because of stubborn differences over troop locations.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters that Phnom Penh would never agree to Bangkok's demands to pull troops out of the Preah Vihear temple.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to ASEAN to help solve the problem peacefully," he said.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said there was little enthusiasm among ASEAN leaders for the conflict to be internationalized with direct UN involvement, as Cambodia has sought.
"I think what all the other ASEAN leaders have been saying this morning is that we should keep the conflict within the ASEAN family," he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have publicly backed ASEAN's mediation role.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
3 comments:
F!@k you Kasit Piromya. He feels the trouble between Cambodia and Thailand should be kept within ASEAN family? Then why the hell doesn't he do his part and let Thailand resolve its issue with ASEAN. All along Thailand want to go BILATERAL, meaning only within Cambodia and Thailand, no 3rd party allow. Then during this ASEAN meeting, he said to keep the problem within the family. What a slippering and sliding snake, always trying to find an escape route. Thailand is constantly changing its message and flip flopping to make itself look good and clean. If Thailand wanted to deal this conflict within the ASEAN family, well.. shit, what do Thailand have to be concern about? Let the Indonesian observers come in at where ever, so they can see for themself who is stirring up the fight. Since Thailand always accuse Cambodia of starting the fight first, let outsiders see it with their own eyes.
ASEAN is a spineless body of organization that is indecisive and unorganize. When there is problem, they turn and look the other way. ASEAN wants to promote peace and unity but choose to do little or nothing in face of conflict within its members. This is the test of unity, obviously ASEAN had failed. If ASEAN clearly stood by its own principles, who cares if Thailand allowed Indonesian observer or not, just come in anyway for the sake of creating peace and unity. ASEAN should create a ASEAN peace keeping forces made up of members states. When problem is getting hot in anywhere within the region of ASEAN, they would be immediately deploy as peace keeper. There is no such thing as unity and strong ASEAN when there is a member state like Thailand who ignore the rule and principle of organization. Thailand acting as though it doesn't have to listen to anyone. Its arrogant is the weakest link of ASEAN. Thailand is unwilling to have peace and unity amongst the ASEAN memeber states.
Malay,Lao,Myanmar,and Viet they're all got problem with the Thai that bully with them all and they don't stick with another and let the Thai bully one by one that real sad
as the matter of fact ASEAN can`t do nothing to solve such as problem because ASEAN have no power or influent among its member despite deplomacy dialogue.For instance if we look back to the past history of this region they fought with each other from generation up to present.The question is that Thailand are very agressive and expansionist.
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