By Ek Madra
SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Reuters) - Thailand's new foreign minister started talks with his Cambodian counterpart on Monday to defuse a row over a 900-year-old temple that has raised fears of a military clash between the southeast Asian neighbors.
Career diplomat Tej Bunnag, who was appointed at the weekend after the resignation of his predecessor over the Preah Vihear spat, declined to talk to reporters as he entered the meeting with Cambodia's Hor Namhong in the tourist town of Siem Reap.
The Cambodian side was also keeping quiet before the talks, which are not expected to yield any major breakthrough in the dispute over 1.8 square miles of scrubland near the temple.
The ancient Hindu temple sits on a jungle-clad escarpment that forms the natural boundary between the two countries. The International Court of Justice awarded the ruins to Cambodia in a 1962 ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.
The Hague court did not rule on the disputed bits of land next to the temple.
With troops and artillery building up on both sides of the border, Cambodia has threatened to take the spat to the United Nations Security Council. Thailand wants all talks with its smaller neighbor to remain strictly two-way.
"Attempts to bring the bilateral issue to broader frameworks at this stage could complicate the situation and in turn, produce undesirable repercussions on the good relations and goodwill," Tej said in a statement on Sunday.
The talks -- the second attempt to resolve the dispute through dialogue -- are expected to run until around 4.30 pm (0930 GMT).
CONFLICTING MAPS
Negotiations a week ago between top military officials quickly descended into an argument over which of several maps drawn up in the last 100 years should be used to settle ownership of the temple and surrounding area.
General Chea Mon, a Cambodian commander at the temple, said both he and Thai officers had ordered a halt to the digging of trenches and bunkers for the duration of the talks, but made clear that any pull-back was out of the question.
"We are still in a military stand-off," he told Reuters.
The dispute flared up when street protesters in Bangkok trying to oust the Thai government seized on its approval of Phnom Penh's bid to list the ruins as a World Heritage site.
A general election campaign in Cambodia ensured the row quickly escalated, although Prime Minister Hun Sen's landslide victory in Sunday's poll gives him scope to tone down the rhetoric and move towards some understanding with Thailand.
However, there is still a risk of the row taking on a life of its own, with ordinary Cambodians organizing collections of cash, food and clothing in the capital to send to troops on the border.
In 2003, a Cambodian nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy and several Thai-owned businesses in Phnom Penh after erroneous reports of comments from a Thai soap opera star suggesting Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temples really belonged to Thailand.
(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Alan Raybould)
Career diplomat Tej Bunnag, who was appointed at the weekend after the resignation of his predecessor over the Preah Vihear spat, declined to talk to reporters as he entered the meeting with Cambodia's Hor Namhong in the tourist town of Siem Reap.
The Cambodian side was also keeping quiet before the talks, which are not expected to yield any major breakthrough in the dispute over 1.8 square miles of scrubland near the temple.
The ancient Hindu temple sits on a jungle-clad escarpment that forms the natural boundary between the two countries. The International Court of Justice awarded the ruins to Cambodia in a 1962 ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.
The Hague court did not rule on the disputed bits of land next to the temple.
With troops and artillery building up on both sides of the border, Cambodia has threatened to take the spat to the United Nations Security Council. Thailand wants all talks with its smaller neighbor to remain strictly two-way.
"Attempts to bring the bilateral issue to broader frameworks at this stage could complicate the situation and in turn, produce undesirable repercussions on the good relations and goodwill," Tej said in a statement on Sunday.
The talks -- the second attempt to resolve the dispute through dialogue -- are expected to run until around 4.30 pm (0930 GMT).
CONFLICTING MAPS
Negotiations a week ago between top military officials quickly descended into an argument over which of several maps drawn up in the last 100 years should be used to settle ownership of the temple and surrounding area.
General Chea Mon, a Cambodian commander at the temple, said both he and Thai officers had ordered a halt to the digging of trenches and bunkers for the duration of the talks, but made clear that any pull-back was out of the question.
"We are still in a military stand-off," he told Reuters.
The dispute flared up when street protesters in Bangkok trying to oust the Thai government seized on its approval of Phnom Penh's bid to list the ruins as a World Heritage site.
A general election campaign in Cambodia ensured the row quickly escalated, although Prime Minister Hun Sen's landslide victory in Sunday's poll gives him scope to tone down the rhetoric and move towards some understanding with Thailand.
However, there is still a risk of the row taking on a life of its own, with ordinary Cambodians organizing collections of cash, food and clothing in the capital to send to troops on the border.
In 2003, a Cambodian nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy and several Thai-owned businesses in Phnom Penh after erroneous reports of comments from a Thai soap opera star suggesting Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temples really belonged to Thailand.
(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Alan Raybould)
11 comments:
Hey UN how many talks do you need from Cambodia with this invader?
How about you do your job as a responsible International entity.
All this look like a child play.
We have an invader in our territory, here.
Hello!!!
The best time for Thailand to claim back the temple is when it's fully developed.
By that time, all Nazi's treaties will be wipe out by an Amendment.
Important points to remember:
A)If the ruling party gave in, yes, indeed, it was a political charade, which played by both sides. B)If the high-level talks failed, the ruling party is partly played political card. C)If the border crisis escalated into a war, then the ruling is completely exculpated.
Now, we're anxiously looking forward to the outcome of the meeting.
People are waiting!
Thailand can never ever ever ever claim any shit...
Well, we'll wait and see if the ruling party gives in to the pressure from its rival.
It is not such a bad tactic for the Thai government to use bilateral talk as a way to prolong the occupation of Cambodian territory!
If I were the Cambodian government, I will shoot the Thai militants or Thai Buddhist militants first and then I will talk later! No Thai is going to violate my boundary or my house!
Go Joint Development to save the Temple!
Yeah...How about use your house for Joint Development! How about turn your house in animal shelter or homeless shelter or drug rehabilitation center?
You can't just ask for Joint Development when you don't even shit! You can't make bread without the dough! How about you go develop on your side of the border and stop bothering with Cambodian people!
The Khmer leaders need to be careful about the Thai thief and if they are not winning and they will have to joint and by joining and the Thai hope to hijack and dictate the join development by all by themselves! And that is exactly what the Vietnamese did to the Khmer Krom in cooperating with Cambodian leaders!
No joint development cooperated with the Siams!!!
You Siams CANT even think of that. Now you're fear of losing advantages, huh? And you want to kneel down and ask for mercy from Khmer Lords? If I were the government, I will accept no Siams passing by to Khmer. If i did, although, you come visit the sacred place/s or somewhere else in Cambodia legally, I will make you come in tough, just like you Siam Embassy did to all innocent Khmers when they apply for Thailand. The Siam Embassy asks for this and that even birth certificate, family book, residential book, related documents, and even a certified statement from local authority before they issue a visa. That's so bullshit! Look to what they do onto Khmers. They are not illegal citizens. In addition to that, I will block the import from Siam. Then let's see your economic. It will be impacted badly because most of ur products are in Cambodia.
Lastly, no joint development w/ the siam dogs.
No need to joint development with the dishoney nation. We can joint development with UNESCO only.
Go home A Siam Thief!!!
Cambodia make you ashamed with UNSC and ICJ!!!
1:42 PM
What about calling your wife for joint development in a new wife-swapping club in Phnom Penh, asshole.
I'd like to try your wife first, and hopefully she's Vietnamese whore.
Post a Comment