Preah Vihear the hold-out issue with Cambodia

Editorial

Preah Vihear the hold-out issue with Cambodia

The Nation December 22, 2015

That ruling came at the height of Thailand's political conflict, which only subsided with the military coup of May 2014. At that stage the two countries were preparing to implement the court's judgement.

Thailand’s military government should resolve the temple dispute before politicians get their hands on it again

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's visit to Thailand last week signalled a normalising of bilateral ties, but it would be an exaggeration to say our relationship has been fully restored.

The primary obstacle is the lack of agreement on the disputed land adjacent to the Preah Vihear Hindu temple on our shared border. Until that issue is resolved, the temple remains closed to Thais. The matter is so sensitive, entailing sovereignty and nationalism, that there is a possibility at least of conflict arising anew.

Thailand's current military government sought to curb some of that nationalism by preventing activist Veera Somkwamkid from staging a protest during Hun Sen's visit. The issue of Preah Vihear was not raised for discussion when the countries' leaders met.

Instead, Thailand and Cambodia signed several pledges to cooperate in areas including economics, security, labour and social issues and will together encourage private enterprises to join hands across the border.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared that the two countries will work together more closely as part of the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, collaborating on many issues, most notably the trafficking of people.

The five pacts signed last week were a declaration on future joint efforts; memoranda of understanding on labour cooperation and the development of border-control facilities at Nong Ian in Thailand and Stung Bot in Cambodia; and agreements on employment and getting the Thai-Cambodia and Cambodia-Thailand Business Councils working together.

Two-way trade between our countries is worth $5 billion annually, with Thai shipments to Cambodia valued at $4.5 billion.

Now we are seeking to align efforts in security, trade, investment and border development.

In terms of security, it was agreed to expedite joint patrols along the border to combat illegal logging and enhance shared efforts against the trafficking of drug and people, as well as other trans-national crimes.

It would be wonderful if agreement could be achieved so easily on the issue of Preah Vihear, but this far more complicated matter has been festering since 1962. That year when the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple and its vicinity are Cambodian territory while leaving room for doubt about the exact delineation.

Thailand acceded to the decision, but conservative ultra-nationalists have since 2008 belaboured the issue, using it to sway political support. In backing Cambodia's bid that year to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site, the government was accused of striking a closed deal with Phnom Penh for its personal benefit.

In February 2011 another administration tried to block restoration work at the temple, triggering a military skirmish in the area. Two months later Cambodia asked the International Court to interpret its 1962 judgement so that the border in the temple's vicinity could be firmly established. In November 2013 the court confirmed that the entire plateau promontory on which Preah Vihear rests belongs to Cambodia.

That ruling came at the height of Thailand's political conflict, which only subsided with the military coup of May 2014. At that stage the two countries were preparing to implement the court's judgement.

The countries must re-delineate the area in accordance with what's known as the Annex I map, and do so "in good faith", as per the court's adjudication.

If Prayut and Hun Sen regard relations between their nations as normalised and improving, they need to push ahead on the Preah Vihear issue. Thailand's military regime is best suited to cure an historic wound and get this resolved. Otherwise, once its term ends and we return to democratic elections, politics is apt to seize the matter and exploit it further, with possibly bloody consequences.