BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN) -- A team of legal advisers will be set up to discuss and analyse the much-awaited ruling by the International Court of Justice on the Preah Vihear temple dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, after it is read out on November 11.
Thailand and the military were ready to comply with the decision in accordance with Thai laws, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday. This implies legal steps would be needed, plus approval from the parliament under Article 190 of the Constitution, if the ruling goes against Thailand and requires boundary demarcation.
"[Which ever way] the decision goes, compliance by Thailand will be carried out according to Thai laws and bilateral relations will not be affected by the ICJ ruling," said Surapong, citing a key conclusion reached at a meeting between Premier Yingluck Shinawatra and the military, plus other agencies yesterday.
"The decision, however it rules, must not affect relations between Thailand and Cambodia and their co-existence," he said.
The Thai stock exchange fell by 36 points yesterday after news emerged of two potential flash points next month - ongoing protests over the draft amnesty law, which would pit opposing groups to a possible violent confrontation, and the Preah Vihear ruling. Some analysts have warned that the ruling could hit share prices next month.
The meeting concluded that a team of legal advisers would be set up, but there were no details about its prospective members, when it would be formed, or which aspects of the ICJ ruling they would be assigned to analyse.
Yingluck has withdrawn from a trip to Ethiopia on November 8-10, in order to prepare for the November 11 ICJ ruling, and has assigned Public Health Minister Pradit Sintavanarong to go on her behalf.
Surapong said he would contact his counterpart Hor Namhong to discuss the first meeting of the ministerial-level Joint Commission (JC) after November 11, and explain that certain state issues associated with foreign affairs would need approval from parliament, as per Article 190 of the Constitution.
He said the military - in its joint decision reached in another meeting with Yingluck where commanders of the Armed Forces were present - said preconditions aimed at peaceful outcomes should be reached with the Cambodian military before the day of the ruling, November 11.
The military also submitted via the Foreign Ministry a proposal on rules of engagement between both countries' armed forces, before representatives of both countries' militaries meet and talk directly, before or after November 11.
Reading of the ICJ ruling will begin at 10am local time in The Hague, where the ICJ is based. That would be 4pm in Thailand and the ruling was expected to last around two hours. It would be broadcast bilingually on Channels 9 and 11, and government-run radio channels, he said.
Surapong cited opinion survey results that suggest most Thais would be ready to accept the ICJ ruling. He said he was relieved but called on anti-government groups not to use the Preah Vihear issue to instigate domestic political instability.
The Preah Vihear issue was discussed at a Senate meeting yesterday, with appointed Senator Kamnoon Sidhisamarn criticising Surapong over his "enthusiasm" to comply with the ruling, by seeking an early JC meeting. He said Thailand should study the ICJ ruling thoroughly before any move to comply with it unconditionally.
Kamnoon said Thailand had not accepted ICJ jurisdiction since 1960. That was 51 years before Cambodia sought an interpretation from the ICJ (in 2011) - and two years before the ICJ ruling in 1962 that only the Temple building belonged to Cambodia, while the direct way to access it was always from Thailand. - See more at: http://thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=15&token=ZjA1MTMyYWI5ODN#sthash.MhSoHLjb.dpuf
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