Cha-am, Thailand (dpa) - The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia began bilateral talks Tuesday on how to defuse tensions over a border temple dispute that sparked a military standoff between the two countries last month.
Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong, met in the Thai beach resort of Cha-am, 110 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, to discuss long-term solutions to the dispute over the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, which has been a flash point for relations between Thailand and Cambodia since the late 1950s.
'All channels are open,' Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said before the meeting began. 'We want to return the situation to normal and end the confrontation.'
Although no specific goal has been set for Tuesday's meeting, it is hoped that it would result in a complete withdrawal of troops from around Preah Vihear, located about 400 kilometres north-east of Bangkok on a cliff that defines the border between Si Sa Khet and Preah Vihear provinces in Thailand and Cambodia, respectively.
Over the weekend, both Thailand and Cambodia withdrew hundreds of troops from around Preah Vihear, each leaving 10 soldiers posted in the contested zone.
The two foreign ministers last met July 28 to try to defuse the temple spat, which was then in danger of turning into a military conflict.
Separate claims on the area surrounding Preah Vihear turned into a military standoff after UNESCO agreed to name the Hindu sanctuary a World Heritage Site.
Although Thailand has long accepted a 1962 ruling of the International Court of Justice that granted Cambodia sovereignty over the temple, it has disputed Cambodia's claim to the area surrounding the temple complex.
Many Thai historians and academics refute The Hague court's ruling, claiming it was based on a faulty 1907 border map drawn up by the French, who were the colonial masters of Cambodia at the time.
The court ruled that since Thailand had not officially objected to the border demarcation placing the temple in Cambodia, it had forfeited the temple, but the court stopped short of ruling on the legitimacy of the French-drawn map's border.
Thailand claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjoining the temple is still disputed.
In fact, the 798-kilometre-long Thai-Cambodia border still has many disputed areas with Preah Vihear being just the most controversial to date.
The Preah Vihear dispute has stoked nationalistic sentiments on both sides on the border.
Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong, met in the Thai beach resort of Cha-am, 110 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, to discuss long-term solutions to the dispute over the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, which has been a flash point for relations between Thailand and Cambodia since the late 1950s.
'All channels are open,' Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said before the meeting began. 'We want to return the situation to normal and end the confrontation.'
Although no specific goal has been set for Tuesday's meeting, it is hoped that it would result in a complete withdrawal of troops from around Preah Vihear, located about 400 kilometres north-east of Bangkok on a cliff that defines the border between Si Sa Khet and Preah Vihear provinces in Thailand and Cambodia, respectively.
Over the weekend, both Thailand and Cambodia withdrew hundreds of troops from around Preah Vihear, each leaving 10 soldiers posted in the contested zone.
The two foreign ministers last met July 28 to try to defuse the temple spat, which was then in danger of turning into a military conflict.
Separate claims on the area surrounding Preah Vihear turned into a military standoff after UNESCO agreed to name the Hindu sanctuary a World Heritage Site.
Although Thailand has long accepted a 1962 ruling of the International Court of Justice that granted Cambodia sovereignty over the temple, it has disputed Cambodia's claim to the area surrounding the temple complex.
Many Thai historians and academics refute The Hague court's ruling, claiming it was based on a faulty 1907 border map drawn up by the French, who were the colonial masters of Cambodia at the time.
The court ruled that since Thailand had not officially objected to the border demarcation placing the temple in Cambodia, it had forfeited the temple, but the court stopped short of ruling on the legitimacy of the French-drawn map's border.
Thailand claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjoining the temple is still disputed.
In fact, the 798-kilometre-long Thai-Cambodia border still has many disputed areas with Preah Vihear being just the most controversial to date.
The Preah Vihear dispute has stoked nationalistic sentiments on both sides on the border.
3 comments:
It is kind of funny when AH Khieu Kanharith said that the UN can only give recommendation and the UN is not the one to solve Cambodian-Thaicong border conflict!
The United Nations is the highest world body to call upon to solve many small and big conflicts around the world! And it is the philosophy of the United Nations to solve conflict when it is small and manageable! Cambodia has the border conflict with the Thaicong since 1950 but because of the Vietname War and the Vietcong occupation of Cambodia has buried the Cambodian-Thaicong border conflict for 30 years! Now that the Cambodian-Thaicong border conflict resurface again and the United Nations have the responsibility to see that the Cambodian-Thaicong border conflict must end quickly and peacefully before the conflict could trigger an arm race and heading toward a bigger war in the future!
If the Thaicong still occupy Cambodian land, the new arm race is inevitable and the future war is certain!
The United Nations must step in now to help Cambodia to end the conflict! Cambodia has shown a lot of patience in dealing with the Thaicong invader but soon no more!
Shut up the Khmer unity destroyer! You want to tell the inside country people about your knowledge on world affairs. To what extend do your people know about power of the UN? Look at the middle east, what the UN can do to solve the problem of Israel's occupation in the region? War in the region has continued over several dicades. It cannot ended because of the US's interest in the region...
What the UN can do to help Iraq from the US's invasion? Cannot coz huge oil reserve for the US to counter its major rival, Iran.
Do you know who is the UN? It's just the forum for P5 to control the world...the UN's resolution is effective only when it serves well the best interest of the P5 or the stronger one among the P5...
So many thing to tell you, not to teach you...To sum up, what's Cambodia-Thai border issue could give the P5 a bowl of noodle? Frankly telling you, your sweet home, the US objected the Cambodian govt's call for UNSC's intervention a few days after 15 July...So, what's the best way? Bilateral approach prevails and now continue to acheive positively...
By your embiton and dream, the issue can be resolved in one night, but in reality not... We have a lot of things to take into consideration, measure our own stregnth and other side's strenght... I read your several writings posted since this issue erupted, you all are so eager to fight...Fighting is easy, now send all your clan and families to Preah Vihear coz the inside country people are tired of fighting over years...Now, your turn... Your clan and families have enjoyed happiness long time ago since runing away from the homeland to seek paradise...so come on...
I must admit that some Cambodian people are so stupid! This is getting ridiculous a how some stupid Cambodian people resort to reason that it is because of weak Cambodian government for the reason the Thaicong want to invade Cambodia and some even use the middle east conflict as an example of how the United Nations fail to play their role! The most famous reason is that Cambodian is tired of fighting the war even if the Thaicong or the Vietcong come to cut Cambodian people throat and burn down their house! So tell me what else I want to know!
It seems that Cambodia as a country is nobody business or interest and nobody want to help Cambodian people to protect their sovereignty in the face of the Thaicong naked aggression! If Cambodia is nobody interest why even bother sign the Paris Agreement involving the United Nations called UNTAC for! Why does United States have to build their embassy in Cambodia for? Why Cambodia has to join the ASEAN block for? Why...
So here are the logics!
Some stupid Cambodian people claimed that Cambodian government is so weak and the Cambodian government can never protect Cambodian sovereignty from the Thaicong naked aggression but why AH Khieu Kanharith claimed that Cambodia do have enough weapon to protect Cambodian sovereignty! Some stupid Cambodian people claimed that the United Nations can never help Cambodia because the United Nations can’t even help the Middle East conflict and the Middle East conflict is a religious conflict which supported by world super powers and there is no way the UN can help bring an end to the middle east conflict! What about the UN fail to stop US from invading Iraq? Well, the US is the world policeman and if Iraq decide to invade Kuwait and build mass weapon destruction to threaten the world peace and the US has an obligation as the world policeman to invade Iraq to restore the world peace and stability! Now does that mean the Thaicong can behave like the US by going around invading Cambodia? Of course not! The Thaicong isn’t world super power and the Thaicong is just shrimp among whale! Some stupid Cambodian people even claim that Cambodian people are so sickened tired of war and they just want peace but do Cambodian people really have peace over the years? Of course not! Well! Cambodian people had been getting use to the fucken war for long that they forget that they are living in a fucken war zone! To prove my point and just look at the living condition of dirt poor Cambodian people and it is not different from the Khmer Rouge and the Vietcong occupation because Cambodian people continue to live in fear! AH HUN XEN has been using his police thugs as his foot soldiers who are walking around with AK-47 and grenades and they do land grabbing, killing, and intimidating Cambodian people as if they were his enemy and AH HUN XEN even deport his own citizen such as Monk Tim Sakhorn without due process to please the Vietcong government!
The fact is too many stupid Cambodian have too much inferior complex and they see no value in themselves and they continue to play death and waiting for some unknown force to help them! Since the beginning the Khmer empire and if Cambodian people didn’t fight for the survival of Cambodia and Cambodia would have vanished long time ago! The fact that Cambodia continue to exist until today is because Cambodian people chose to fight the Thaicong and the Vietcong relentless aggression! Fear no more and if Cambodian people chose to fight to protect Cambodia and Cambodia will always continue to exist and Cambodian people will always continue to be prosper and multiply!
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