A Change of Guard

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Friday 6 May 2011

Muscle flexing [between Cambodia and Thailand]

The Deccan Herald
Bangalore, India

''Politicians are stoking nationalist sentiments.''

Fierce fighting has broken out between Thai and Cambodian forces. Although a ceasefire agreement was reached late last week, there have been several breaches, leaving the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border tense. Reports suggest that while the intensity of the fighting has reduced since the ceasefire, it has not stopped.

Both sides are continuing to engage in shelling. Steps must be taken by the two governments to enforce the ceasefire as the roughly two-week long armed clashes have already taken a huge toll. At least 18 people have been killed in the recent fighting and tens of thousands of villagers have been displaced. Ancient temples are said to have suffered significant damage in the fighting.

The Thai-Cambodian border has not been fully demarcated and clashes have erupted periodically over it. At the heart of the latest clashes are centuries-old temples at Preah Vihear, Ta Moan and Ta Krabey. The dispute over the 11th century Preah Vihear temple - the most renowned example of Khmer architecture - dates back to the late 19th century. In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. Although Thailand handed over the temple to Cambodia, it has retained control over surrounding areas, contending that the border here is yet to be demarcated. Preah Vihear became a flashpoint again in 2008 when the UN granted it heritage status. And since then fighting has erupted in the area off and on.

Political parties in Thailand and Cambodia have been using the Preah Vihear temple to stoke nationalist sentiments and reap electoral benefits. The listing of the temple as a world heritage site was exploited by Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen during the 2008 general election. In Thailand, parties have sought to score political points over the issue, with the opposition demanding prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s resignation for ‘failing to defend the country’s sovereignty’ over the temples.

Vejjajiva is due to announce dates for general elections soon, sparking speculation over whether the muscle flexing at the border is aimed at impressing voters. Some have suggested that it is the Thai military rather than the political leadership that is calling the shots on the current clashes along the border as evident from the fact that Asean’s plan for Indonesian mediation in the conflict was shot down by the Thai military.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Thai arrogance letter to UNSC


Letter dated 21 July 2008 from the Permanent Representative of
Thailand to the United Nations addressed to the President of the
Security Council
Upon the instruction of my Government and with reference to the letter dated
18 July 2008 from the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia
addressed to you concerning Thai-Cambodia relations (S/2008/470), I have the
honour to inform you as follows:
1. The Kingdom of Thailand has always attached great importance to the cordial
relations with the Kingdom of Cambodia, which is her close neighbour and family
member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As in all regions
of the world, it is not unusual for countries sharing a long common border to have
border/boundary issues between them, and Thailand and Cambodia are no
exceptions. However, through friendly bilateral consultations and negotiations,
every past challenge had been resolved amicably, a fact which underlines the depth
and strength of relations between our two countries. It is in this spirit and with this
conviction that the Royal Thai Government approaches the issue regarding the area
adjacent to the Temple of Preah Vihear. From the beginning, the Royal Thai
Government has been determined to seek a just and peaceful solution to this
challenge through the existing bilateral consultative frameworks on the basis of
friendship, goodwill and cooperation that have long existed between our two
Governments and peoples.
2. Consistent with the above spirit, the Prime Ministers of both Thailand and
Cambodia have already pledged the utmost restraint and expressed their conviction
to resolve the issue through existing bilateral consultations and negotiations. As the
first step, the special session of the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee
(GBC) was convened in Sa Kaeo Province of Thailand on Monday, 21 July 2008,
the result of which has eased tensions and allowed the situation in the area to remain
calm. Both sides have also agreed to hold further talks and the report of the GBC is
now being scrutinized by the Prime Ministers of the two countries. Meanwhile, both
Prime Ministers have also expressed their wish to convene, as soon as possible, the
Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) in order to accelerate its
work of surveying and demarcating the entire stretch of the Thai-Cambodian border
so that similar problems will not arise in the future to affect the cordial relations
between our two countries and so that the peoples on both sides of the border can
enjoy the full benefit of cooperation and prosperity

Anonymous said...

3. The aforementioned position has received a clear and unanimous support from
ASEAN, of which both Thailand and Cambodia are members. In a statement by the
ASEAN Chair dated 20 July 2008, ASEAN Foreign Ministers expressed their hope
that, through the bilateral talks, Thailand and Cambodia will find a way to defuse
the situation, and offered facilities to be placed at the disposal of the two countries
concerned. Thailand welcomes the ASEAN Chair’s statement calling for ASEAN
solidarity and the early resolution of the issue.
4. Nevertheless, the Royal Thai Government is obliged to provide an account of
facts on certain specific issues referred to in the above letter from the Permanent
Representative of Cambodia as follows:
(a) Regarding the issue of the area of “Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda”
referred to in the above letter from the Permanent Representative of Cambodia, it
should be noted that the area adjacent to the Temple of Preah Vihear, where the said
Pagoda is situated, is part of Thailand’s territory. Thailand’s position in this regard
is fully consistent with the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of
15 June 1962 in the Case Concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear, which Thailand
has fully and duly implemented;
(i) Cambodia’s territorial claim in this area is based on Cambodia’s
unilateral understanding of the said ICJ judgment that a boundary line was
determined by the Court in that judgment. Thailand contests this unilateral
understanding since the ICJ ruled in this case that it did not have jurisdiction
over the question of land boundary and did not in any case determine the
location of the boundary between Thailand and Cambodia. In addressing the
final submissions of Cambodia at the end of the oral proceedings calling for
pronouncements on the legal status of the “Annex I map”, which was
mentioned in the above letter from the Permanent Representative of Cambodia,
and the frontier line in the disputed region, the ICJ stated that the said
submissions “can be entertained only to the extent that they gave expression to
grounds and not as claims to be dealt with in the operative provisions of the
judgment” (Case Concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia v.
Thailand) (Merits) ICJ Reports 1962, p. 36). Taking into account article 59 of
the Statute of the ICJ and the fact that the issue before the ICJ in this case was
limited solely to the question of the sovereignty over the region of the Temple
of Preah Vihear, the boundary line claimed by Cambodia has no legal status
from the judgment;
(ii) Thus, the location of boundary line in the area adjacent to the Temple of
Preah Vihear is still to be determined by both countries in accordance with
international law. In 2000, Thailand and Cambodia signed the Memorandum of
Understanding on the Survey and Demarcation of Land Boundary and
established a Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to be responsible for the said
survey and demarcation of the entire stretch of the common land boundary. A
fact sheet regarding the overlapping territorial claims of Thailand and
Cambodia in the area of the Temple of Preah Vihear is attached herewith (see
annex I);
(iii) It is within this context that Thailand has made repeated protests (i.e.
10 April 2008, 17 May 2007, 8 May 2005 and 25 November 2004) regarding
the presence of the “Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda” and other structures as well
as that of Cambodian settlers and military personnel in the area. The four

Anonymous said...

protests were made in particular on the basis of article 5 of the 2000
Memorandum of Understanding mentioned above, under which both sides
agreed not to carry out any work resulting in changes of environment of the
frontier zone, pending the survey and demarcation of the common land
boundary. To date, no action has been undertaken by Cambodia to address
Thailand’s concerns, protests and requests;
(b) Regarding the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear on the World
Heritage List on 7 July 2008, as unilaterally proposed by the Kingdom of Cambodia,
attention should be drawn to the statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Thailand at the thirty-second session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee in Quebec City,
Canada, on 7 July 2008. The said statement unequivocally put on the record
Thailand’s objection, observations and reservations on the issue concerned. Among
other things, as a State party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the Royal Thai
Government reaffirms her right to apply article 11 (3), which stipulates that the
inclusion of a property situated in a territory, sovereignty or jurisdiction over which
is claimed by more than one State, will in no way prejudice the rights of the party to
the dispute. Thus, the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear on the World
Heritage List shall in no way prejudice Thailand’s rights regarding her territorial
integrity and sovereignty as well as the survey and demarcation of land boundary in
the area and Thailand’s legal position. A copy of the said statement is attached (see
annex II).
5. In conclusion, the Royal Thai Government reiterates her firm conviction that
the present challenge shall be resolved amicably through friendly bilateral
consultations and negotiations within the relevant bilateral frameworks established
by both countries, and on the basis of goodwill, the principle of good
neighbourliness, the long-standing friendship between the two countries and the
spirit of ASEAN solidarity that has underpinned this regional organization since its
inception.
I have the honour to request that the text of the present letter and its annexes
be circulated as a document of the Security Council.
(Signed) Don Pramudwinai
Ambassador
Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Thailand