PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia will pursue U.N. intervention to avoid a military confrontation with Thailand if talks between the two countries fail to produce a breakthrough, the Cambodian foreign minister said Friday.
Cambodia is only postponing — not canceling — its request for the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the dispute over contested land near a historic temple, Hor Namhong told reporters.
Foreign ministers from both countries are scheduled to meet Monday in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap.
"This is a new step in our goodwill to try to find a solution to the problem through peaceful negotiations," Hor Namhong said after meeting with ambassadors to Cambodia from the Security Council's five permanent members.
The session was called to inform diplomats about the Monday talks.
He said he was "quite hopeful" that the Monday meeting could resolve the standoff near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple. However, if the talks fail, "resorting to the United Nations is still more preferable than waging a war."
The comments came a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a statement saying he had advised the Security Council to "temporarily postpone its meeting while awaiting results of the negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand."
Military tensions between the two countries over 1.8 square miles of land intensified earlier this month after UNESCO approved a Cambodian application to have the temple designated a World Heritage Site.
Thailand sent troops to the border July 15 after anti-government demonstrators lashed out at Samak's government for supporting Cambodia's application. They claim the temple's new status will undermine Thailand's claim to land around the temple.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spoke by telephone Thursday and agreed to schedule the meeting next week between their foreign ministers.
Political attempts earlier this week to resolve the crisis failed, prompting Cambodia to take the issue to the U.N.
Thailand opposes the involvement of the U.N. or ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which both countries are members of. Thailand's U.N. ambassador, Don Pramudwinai, has accused Cambodia of bringing the quarrel before the Security Council because "the Cambodian target is not only Preah Vihear but the entire common border."
Don said Cambodia was trying to force Thailand to accept a French colonial map's demarcation of the border.
Thailand relies on a different map drawn up later with American technical assistance, but accepts a ruling by the International Court of Justice that awarded the disputed temple to Cambodia in 1962.
Cambodia is only postponing — not canceling — its request for the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the dispute over contested land near a historic temple, Hor Namhong told reporters.
Foreign ministers from both countries are scheduled to meet Monday in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap.
"This is a new step in our goodwill to try to find a solution to the problem through peaceful negotiations," Hor Namhong said after meeting with ambassadors to Cambodia from the Security Council's five permanent members.
The session was called to inform diplomats about the Monday talks.
He said he was "quite hopeful" that the Monday meeting could resolve the standoff near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple. However, if the talks fail, "resorting to the United Nations is still more preferable than waging a war."
The comments came a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a statement saying he had advised the Security Council to "temporarily postpone its meeting while awaiting results of the negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand."
Military tensions between the two countries over 1.8 square miles of land intensified earlier this month after UNESCO approved a Cambodian application to have the temple designated a World Heritage Site.
Thailand sent troops to the border July 15 after anti-government demonstrators lashed out at Samak's government for supporting Cambodia's application. They claim the temple's new status will undermine Thailand's claim to land around the temple.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spoke by telephone Thursday and agreed to schedule the meeting next week between their foreign ministers.
Political attempts earlier this week to resolve the crisis failed, prompting Cambodia to take the issue to the U.N.
Thailand opposes the involvement of the U.N. or ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which both countries are members of. Thailand's U.N. ambassador, Don Pramudwinai, has accused Cambodia of bringing the quarrel before the Security Council because "the Cambodian target is not only Preah Vihear but the entire common border."
Don said Cambodia was trying to force Thailand to accept a French colonial map's demarcation of the border.
Thailand relies on a different map drawn up later with American technical assistance, but accepts a ruling by the International Court of Justice that awarded the disputed temple to Cambodia in 1962.
3 comments:
The ruling of 1962 include the map of the 1907 Treaty.
Cambodia must push for the withdrawal of the siam troops unconditionally.
The 1962 verdict must be respected by the siam in its integrity.
The 1907 Treaty is an official Treaty between the two country, their king and its nation accept to sign the Treaty so it's law for us.
If they are not happy with this, we let the UN force the Siam government to respect the international law.
Amazing of offshore oil can drive Siamland in to be an senseless outlaw.
The Thai sure has a very short memory oil at stake. The Treaty of 1907, your king sign it, France did not force you. An International Treaty between two nation is not to be taken lightly. So nobody is forcing you to accept the 1907 Treaty, the Thai government have the obligation to respect the Treaty.
If you don't this means any treaty sign by Thailand with any country may be nullify at any given moment by the Thai.
That is quite amazing.
all these years the SIAM do not give a D@M respect to their King at all, isn't it?
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