Yutthasak: Thailand Won’t leave area vacantPublished: 26/12/2011
Bangkok Post
Defence Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa has rejected claims the outcome of the latest General Border Committee meeting with Cambodia amounts to a loss of territory for Thailand. In an interview with WASSANA NANUAM, he insists the government will not move the border back an inch even as troops lend full cooperation in resolving the border dispute.
Looking at the outcome of the latest GBC meeting, are we at a disadvantage and do we stand to lose the 4.6 sq km of land around the Preah Vihear temple?
No. How could we? We won't withdraw the troops and then leave the area vacant. In fact, we will send police to the area in place of the soldiers. The police will go in equal numbers to the soldiers withdrawn.
The police will patrol the area 24 hours a day. We won't lose our territory, I can tell you that.
It wasn't easy negotiating the issue. Cambodia refused to yield and so did we.
Lawyers from both sides were locking horns. We did not sit back because all eyes were on us to see if everything that entered negotiation was above board. I had a four-hour meeting with [Cambodia's Defence Minister] Gen Tea Banh and after that a 17-member working group thrashed out the details for hours.
It took us seven-eight hours before we came to a conclusion.
If it hadn't been for this government, we don't know if we could have settled the issue.
We might have come back without any agreement, especially on border observers.
Cambodia insisted on having only Indonesian observers, citing an agreement to such effect by the foreign minister [Kasit Piromya] of the previous government.
In the end, [Cambodian] Prime Minister Hun Sen accepted our condition that a three-nation observer team be established. Hun Sen agreed there should be joint observers from Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.
He called me and said there was no problem and that we could talk.
He told me if it wasn't for my delegation and the Pheu Thai Party-led government, the talks would not have been fruitful. This is because the phu yai decision-makers knew each other personally.
Who coordinated with Hun Sen? Did you keep Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra updated on the talks?
It was probably Lt Gen Hun Manet [Hun Sen's son] who coordinated. He also attended the meeting. The Cambodian side would listen to instructions from Hun Sen on any issue which was not settled during the negotiations.
I didn't call Prime Minister Yingluck to report on the talks. She assigned me to take care of the meeting and make decisions jointly with the supreme commander and the armed forces commanders. Next, I will inform the cabinet of 12 points reached at the 8th GBC meeting. The points will then be raised in parliament under Section 190 of the constitution.
What's the next step?
The prime minister will approve the Joint Working Group [to work out details of the military withdrawal from the provisional demilitarised zone ordered by the International Court of Justice] chaired by Gen Worapong Sa-nganet, the chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. The group will hold talks with Cambodia on various matters.
When will the troops be pulling out?
I ask that we don't use the word "withdrawal". It's actually a replacement or redeployment of personnel, which is the same thing Cambodia is doing. We will replace the soldiers with the police in equal numbers and let the soldiers take charge of border operation strategies.
The JWG of both countries will need to talk it over first. The first meeting will take place here in Thailand. We'll see how it goes after the New Year. We will wait for Cambodia to set up its JWG. We have discussed a proposal that the Joint Observer Team should inspect the redeployment of the personnel.
Were you under pressure in the GBC negotiations?
A lot of people say we will lose our territory. No. I may be 74 years old but I am a soldier. Protecting territorial sovereignty is the most important task. I refuse to let even a square inch of our land be lost. But we can't allow ourselves to be seen by the world as a stubborn child who doesn't abide by the International Court of Justice's order. We have to be a nice kid, otherwise we will be at a disadvantage when the ICJ rules on the border dispute in September next year. What I set out to do is make the armed forces strong to safeguard our territorial sovereignty.
Defence Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa has rejected claims the outcome of the latest General Border Committee meeting with Cambodia amounts to a loss of territory for Thailand. In an interview with WASSANA NANUAM, he insists the government will not move the border back an inch even as troops lend full cooperation in resolving the border dispute.
Looking at the outcome of the latest GBC meeting, are we at a disadvantage and do we stand to lose the 4.6 sq km of land around the Preah Vihear temple?
No. How could we? We won't withdraw the troops and then leave the area vacant. In fact, we will send police to the area in place of the soldiers. The police will go in equal numbers to the soldiers withdrawn.
The police will patrol the area 24 hours a day. We won't lose our territory, I can tell you that.
It wasn't easy negotiating the issue. Cambodia refused to yield and so did we.
Lawyers from both sides were locking horns. We did not sit back because all eyes were on us to see if everything that entered negotiation was above board. I had a four-hour meeting with [Cambodia's Defence Minister] Gen Tea Banh and after that a 17-member working group thrashed out the details for hours.
It took us seven-eight hours before we came to a conclusion.
If it hadn't been for this government, we don't know if we could have settled the issue.
We might have come back without any agreement, especially on border observers.
Cambodia insisted on having only Indonesian observers, citing an agreement to such effect by the foreign minister [Kasit Piromya] of the previous government.
In the end, [Cambodian] Prime Minister Hun Sen accepted our condition that a three-nation observer team be established. Hun Sen agreed there should be joint observers from Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.
He called me and said there was no problem and that we could talk.
He told me if it wasn't for my delegation and the Pheu Thai Party-led government, the talks would not have been fruitful. This is because the phu yai decision-makers knew each other personally.
Who coordinated with Hun Sen? Did you keep Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra updated on the talks?
It was probably Lt Gen Hun Manet [Hun Sen's son] who coordinated. He also attended the meeting. The Cambodian side would listen to instructions from Hun Sen on any issue which was not settled during the negotiations.
I didn't call Prime Minister Yingluck to report on the talks. She assigned me to take care of the meeting and make decisions jointly with the supreme commander and the armed forces commanders. Next, I will inform the cabinet of 12 points reached at the 8th GBC meeting. The points will then be raised in parliament under Section 190 of the constitution.
What's the next step?
The prime minister will approve the Joint Working Group [to work out details of the military withdrawal from the provisional demilitarised zone ordered by the International Court of Justice] chaired by Gen Worapong Sa-nganet, the chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. The group will hold talks with Cambodia on various matters.
When will the troops be pulling out?
I ask that we don't use the word "withdrawal". It's actually a replacement or redeployment of personnel, which is the same thing Cambodia is doing. We will replace the soldiers with the police in equal numbers and let the soldiers take charge of border operation strategies.
The JWG of both countries will need to talk it over first. The first meeting will take place here in Thailand. We'll see how it goes after the New Year. We will wait for Cambodia to set up its JWG. We have discussed a proposal that the Joint Observer Team should inspect the redeployment of the personnel.
Were you under pressure in the GBC negotiations?
A lot of people say we will lose our territory. No. I may be 74 years old but I am a soldier. Protecting territorial sovereignty is the most important task. I refuse to let even a square inch of our land be lost. But we can't allow ourselves to be seen by the world as a stubborn child who doesn't abide by the International Court of Justice's order. We have to be a nice kid, otherwise we will be at a disadvantage when the ICJ rules on the border dispute in September next year. What I set out to do is make the armed forces strong to safeguard our territorial sovereignty.
No comments:
Post a Comment