The Nation
After a year of border tension and political frustration, Cambodia has a new sense of confidence in Thailand
It is difficult to describe the current relationship between Thailand and Cambodia without taking into consideration the positive body language of representatives of the two countries, as well as other nitty-gritty details, on display during the two-day visit to Phnom Penh by Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya over the weekend.
The trip was successful because Foreign Minister Kasit managed to restore confidence among the Cambodian leadership, especially Prime Minister Hun Sen, in Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government. Over the past year, the lack of political stability in Thailand and the frequent changes of foreign minister and government have worried our Cambodian friends. But it seems now that the Cambodians are confident the new Thai administration is a partner they can deal with.
Hun Sen was also pleased with Abhisit's letter to him citing his statement in Oddar Meanchey that any bilateral problems between the two countries should be solved through peaceful means, negotiation and the non-use of force. Both Abhisit and Hun Sen see eye to eye on this. The Thai leader has reaffirmed that the border issues will be resolved through the existing bilateral mechanisms.
"As we are immediate neighbours and share a common border, traditions and cultures, my government is committed to bringing better security and more prosperity to the livelihood of our two peoples and countries," Abhisit said in part of his letter, and it was that kind of spirit that was displayed throughout the visit. Preparations are now underway for Abhisit to visit Cambodia.
Back in 1989, Kasit was part of the Thai delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, which Hun Sen also participated in. At their meeting over the weekend, the two vowed to work together again like they did twenty years ago to bring peace to Cambodia. But this time the stakes are higher because both countries are Asean members and they have an obligation to work for the benefit of the regional grouping. Thailand is ready to do that. In the near future, the country is planning to release a grant of Bt1.8 billion for a highway construction project in Cambodia.
From 1986-2008, Thailand provided grants of Bt1.2 billion and soft loans totalling Bt2.2 billion to Cambodia for infrastructure development projects. Other assistance included technical cooperation and training in various fields. Despite the tension of the past year caused by border demarcation disputes at the Preah Vihear temple and other historic monuments, trade between the two countries amounted to US$1.8 billion (Bt63 billion) last year, up from US$1.4 billion in 2007.
In the near future, additional cultural and personal exchanges will increase, including between the two countries' legislators. For the first time, the Democrat Party will establish ties, and cooperate with, the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
Thai-Cambodian relations are now on firmer ground and the two sides are ready to move on. However, the Thai opposition parties and ill-intentioned individuals continue to use vitriol to undermine the friendship. So much so that Hun Sen has told the Thais that both sides have to avoid falling victim to misunderstanding and misinterpretation coming from sources such as unconfirmed reports from media or non-governmental organisations. Both countries have suffered recently from such rumour-mongering and even mud-slinging.
The recent calls from Singapore and Burma to boycott the upcoming Asean Summit in Thailand were a bit silly. The postponement of the Asean summit from last December has already damaged Thailand's international reputation and the grouping's interest. But at this point, all Asean members have confirmed their participation. They want to see a successful summit chaired by Thailand. They know that a strong and successful Asean that has agreed on economic and financial cooperative frameworks will be of benefit to all members, especially during this time of global economic crisis.
But make no mistake, Thai-Cambodian relations are pivotal within the Asean context. Hun Sen was right when he said the state of ties between the two countries could affect Asean as a whole. Cambodia is an active member in Asean initiatives, especially most recently in the drafting of the Asean charter and the terms of reference for the new Asean human rights body.
The border tensions last year even led to brief exchanges of gunfire between Thai and Cambodian troops, and naturally this caused great concern among the Asean members. After all, no member countries have ever gone to war with each other before. And this is a record and legacy the grouping wants to maintain. The Abhisit government knows that relations and mutual trust with Cambodia must be improved and solidified before the countries can go beyond the bilateral framework. At the same time, Thailand has emerged from a political abyss and is now moving towards a more stable political condition. However, time is still needed before this situation can be consolidated further.
It is difficult to describe the current relationship between Thailand and Cambodia without taking into consideration the positive body language of representatives of the two countries, as well as other nitty-gritty details, on display during the two-day visit to Phnom Penh by Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya over the weekend.
The trip was successful because Foreign Minister Kasit managed to restore confidence among the Cambodian leadership, especially Prime Minister Hun Sen, in Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government. Over the past year, the lack of political stability in Thailand and the frequent changes of foreign minister and government have worried our Cambodian friends. But it seems now that the Cambodians are confident the new Thai administration is a partner they can deal with.
Hun Sen was also pleased with Abhisit's letter to him citing his statement in Oddar Meanchey that any bilateral problems between the two countries should be solved through peaceful means, negotiation and the non-use of force. Both Abhisit and Hun Sen see eye to eye on this. The Thai leader has reaffirmed that the border issues will be resolved through the existing bilateral mechanisms.
"As we are immediate neighbours and share a common border, traditions and cultures, my government is committed to bringing better security and more prosperity to the livelihood of our two peoples and countries," Abhisit said in part of his letter, and it was that kind of spirit that was displayed throughout the visit. Preparations are now underway for Abhisit to visit Cambodia.
Back in 1989, Kasit was part of the Thai delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, which Hun Sen also participated in. At their meeting over the weekend, the two vowed to work together again like they did twenty years ago to bring peace to Cambodia. But this time the stakes are higher because both countries are Asean members and they have an obligation to work for the benefit of the regional grouping. Thailand is ready to do that. In the near future, the country is planning to release a grant of Bt1.8 billion for a highway construction project in Cambodia.
From 1986-2008, Thailand provided grants of Bt1.2 billion and soft loans totalling Bt2.2 billion to Cambodia for infrastructure development projects. Other assistance included technical cooperation and training in various fields. Despite the tension of the past year caused by border demarcation disputes at the Preah Vihear temple and other historic monuments, trade between the two countries amounted to US$1.8 billion (Bt63 billion) last year, up from US$1.4 billion in 2007.
In the near future, additional cultural and personal exchanges will increase, including between the two countries' legislators. For the first time, the Democrat Party will establish ties, and cooperate with, the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
Thai-Cambodian relations are now on firmer ground and the two sides are ready to move on. However, the Thai opposition parties and ill-intentioned individuals continue to use vitriol to undermine the friendship. So much so that Hun Sen has told the Thais that both sides have to avoid falling victim to misunderstanding and misinterpretation coming from sources such as unconfirmed reports from media or non-governmental organisations. Both countries have suffered recently from such rumour-mongering and even mud-slinging.
The recent calls from Singapore and Burma to boycott the upcoming Asean Summit in Thailand were a bit silly. The postponement of the Asean summit from last December has already damaged Thailand's international reputation and the grouping's interest. But at this point, all Asean members have confirmed their participation. They want to see a successful summit chaired by Thailand. They know that a strong and successful Asean that has agreed on economic and financial cooperative frameworks will be of benefit to all members, especially during this time of global economic crisis.
But make no mistake, Thai-Cambodian relations are pivotal within the Asean context. Hun Sen was right when he said the state of ties between the two countries could affect Asean as a whole. Cambodia is an active member in Asean initiatives, especially most recently in the drafting of the Asean charter and the terms of reference for the new Asean human rights body.
The border tensions last year even led to brief exchanges of gunfire between Thai and Cambodian troops, and naturally this caused great concern among the Asean members. After all, no member countries have ever gone to war with each other before. And this is a record and legacy the grouping wants to maintain. The Abhisit government knows that relations and mutual trust with Cambodia must be improved and solidified before the countries can go beyond the bilateral framework. At the same time, Thailand has emerged from a political abyss and is now moving towards a more stable political condition. However, time is still needed before this situation can be consolidated further.
12 comments:
I am glad that the talk went well. I certainly do not want any war with Thailand; Cambodia has had too enough wars.
Do not happy yet, we are the losser. Possible our 4.5 Km Square of Khmer land will be divided by two. Watch out carefully.
Red-Ant.
This article is just a general theory talked only, but specifically at the Prea Vihear issue, do we think Thailand want to be a losser? Never ever at all, only Cambodia. Have we ever claimed Bangkok was Khmer's Land? Never. We only spoke outside, but Thailand is still claiming Prea Vihea ares belongs to Thailand even though the 1962-agreement was granted to Cambodia.
Red-Ant, I do agree with you. I will see the result in this specific issue. Thanks!
LOL, Khmer Kandal wannabe Khmer Leu by wanting to live on the mountain with them.
Are you crazy?
Nop, we're all not, but you (2:07 AM) are the only one cause' you Thai learn from your manipulated falsfied version of history. Get educated or get lost out of this forum.
Ordinary Khmer
i think it is ok to get excited about the prospect of mending fences and solving this international border problem. of course, there are still a lot of works to be done. i the way i see it, if thailand can respect the 1904 to 1907 international treaty, despite that it's over a century old, then i can see a lot of cooperation from cambodia. however, if thailand continue to use their own unilateral map in order to claim the surrounding area of 1.4 or whatever square area adjacent to our preah vihear temple, cambodia can never accept that violation. so, it is up to thailand to respect the international boundary, especially if they want to work with cambodia for bilateral treaty.
one has to understand history and the historical relation between cambodia and thailand in order to understand the current problem between these two nations; it runs deeper than people think or see on the sufface. that is why it is important that thailand can respect the old treaty, otherwise, there will always be problems. the reality is that thailand must genuinely want to solving this problem with cambodia, not just talks, talks and running the mouth like diarrhea but nothing really changed. thailand needs to show respect and concrete result, that is the real problem from a khmer perspective. i hope it will happen sooner than later for the benefit of both nations. respect, respect, respect the international treaty, etc... with cambodia; and no more bias and discrimination against khmer people and cambodia, be fair and just in the name of humanity and good neighborly people; this way i can see cambodia and thailand will regain trust, good friendship for millenium to come. but thailand has to want to do just that; cambodia is being patient. let's hope it will work out!
Thailand wants a piece of pie for the soft loans. Now Cambodia should consider by splitting 4 Sq. mile of land and calls it a done deal. Thai king and the gov’t. will give more loans to Cambodia in the near future. Bong Kwack is studying this deal very closely. Cheer!!!
There is nothing to split. Khmer Kandal is not Khmer Leu who live on (Leu) the mountain. Therefore, they don't own anything up there.
Are you out of your mind? No such thing called Khmer Leu/Krom or Kandal. The territory belongs to Cambodia and Ah Kwack does not give a damn about it. All he cares is lots of $ in his pocket and feeds his family trees.
What? No Khmer Leu, Khmer Kandal, or Khmer Krom? What planet are you from, Ah Potato digger (6:56)?
Let me tell you something: Khmer Leu is the real Khmer Ankorian. There rest are just slave who had been used to build Ankor and temples.
Be cautiuos with Ah Siamese theive! their mission is to invaded Cambodia, at this moment they're waiting for a right moment. What they need is time extending talk with Cambodia, because his master and souther nation are working hart to do a coup against Hun Sen administration. The tension will be wirst to come.
Yes the group of three is working round the clock to find some one topling Mr. Hun Sen then they make coup against him, so far there ware three times has been tried but all shamefull failed part of VN.GOV'T, Siam GOV'T and their distance Kru master mind which is: Kru DAY DAEEK PHNEK PRACK, SBAEEK SPAORN(in Khmer words). The group of new alliance has been formed in the past 7 or 8 months ago, just before they send Siamese troop to invade our territory then they will stay there for along time to come. Siamese mission is to invade Khmerland then occupied, the negociate with VN.GOV'T thereafter, Their gaol is ANGKOR WATT(Siemreap Prov..). Therefore, Siamese troop von't ever withraw until we force them out. Please do not be exited, that doen't matter how softeness action Ah Siamese has taken they're always wanted more piece of our Land.
May god bless Khmer all!
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