Thailand's $10 million war chest for Preah Vihear

By Anonymous

To All Readers:

These are reality on the ground:

1. Thai incursion and occupation at Preah Vihear (PV) is a real violation of Cambodia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

2. The Thais are threatening Cambodia because they know we are too weak militarily, economically and diplomatically to face up to their challenge.

3. The Thais know that in case of greater conflict on PV, the leading powers will side with them (The US with the Treaty of Amity, Japan because of the heavy Japanese investments in Thailand, ASEAN and may be the EU).

To date, Cambodia failed to have the Preah Vihear adopted at the recent UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) session in Brazil due to very strong Thai lobbying abilities. They had a 50 member delegation (including military officers) armed with a war chest of $10 million (Baht 239 million) to lobby the 21 members of the WHC in Brazil.

UNESCO felt that they then should postpone the decision to next year Bahrain meeting as a result of such strong Thai lobbying. So Sok An claiming "victory" needs to be really checked...

What people DON'T know is that next year WHC Bahrain Meeting will have Thailand as Vice Chair and in 2012, Thailand will host the WHC Meeting. Hence, the Thais are buying time...

So far, messages/communiqués coming out of the Council of Ministers (Quick Reaction Unit) have been very confrontational which is not sustainable and productive as compared to more balanced and diplomatic communiqués from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here stands the sharp difference in tone and professionalism in handling such sensitive issue.

Prince Thomico's Letter sets the permanent Cambodian stance that notwithstanding the unjust border demarcation done by the past colonial powers, reclaiming any land in Preah Vihear is a simply futile attemtp by the Thais and they should cease such exercise.

Abhisit is now seeking a face saving exit and Cambodia should offer him a helping hand to do so as a win-win solution benefiting both nations.

Joint Management of Preah Vihear is a categorically NO from Cambodia. Thailand should perhaps agree to join in the 7 members of the ICC (Int'l Coordinating Committee) comprised of China, Australia, India, etc... as doing so would benefit really BOTH nations as Preah Vihear could develop then as a real symbol of harmonious relationship between the 2 countries in the end...

Cambodia (Sok AN & Team) should switch gear and if their team has no person able to adopt a new strategy, then they should either incorporate a new member to help bring about a peaceful solution or leave it to others (perhaps the Foreign Ministry) to take over to solve the issue.

Preah Vihear is a micro issue in Foreign Affairs but Foreign Affairs per se is the macro issue of the relevant Foreign Ministry itself with better diplomatic skills and expertise...

So is the Preah Vihear assignment mismatched???