Thailand, Cambodia Clash for Fourth Day at Temple

Thailand’s $264 billion economy is more than 26 times the size of Cambodia’s. The Cambodian army spent $123 million in 2008, compared with $4.1 billion for the military in Thailand, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a fourth day along their disputed border, blaming each other for initiating a conflict that has damaged an 11th century Hindu temple and fueled protests in Bangkok.

Fighting erupted briefly today at the UN World Heritage Site, Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told the Thai PBS television station. Skirmishes starting Feb. 4 have killed at least two people, according to Thailand’s government.

While clashes at the border have killed at least eight soldiers since 2008, the violence has not escalated. The latest outbreak takes place as 2,500 nationalists block a Bangkok street for a second week to demand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva take tougher measures against what they say are Cambodia’s attempts to claim Thai territory.

“Right now I’m 90 percent sure it will be contained and the military will negotiate a lasting cease-fire,” Paul Quaglia, director of PSA Asia, a Bangkok-based security and risk assessment consulting firm, said by telephone today. “The Thai army is in pretty good contact with counterparts on the other side.”

Thailand’s benchmark SET Index fell 0.8 percent to 977.21 as of 11:14 a.m. local time. The gauge has risen 1.9 percent since nationalists started protesting against Abhisit on Jan. 25, the best performance among Asia’s 15 biggest markets in that time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

‘Armed Aggression’

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in a letter dated yesterday called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an urgent meeting on the dispute. A wing of Preah Vihear temple has collapsed as a result of Thai artillery bombardment, Cambodia said in a statement yesterday, citing an unidentified military commander based near the border.

Thai army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said in a telephone interview today that Cambodia started the fighting by firing artillery shells, rockets and bullets across the border.

A Thai court in 2008 ordered the government to withdraw support for Cambodia’s bid to list the disputed temple as a World Heritage site.

The yellow-shirted protesters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, who backed Abhisit’s rise to power in 2008, are demanding that Thailand drop out of the UN World Heritage Committee, cancel a 2000 agreement with Cambodia on border negotiations and urge Cambodians to withdraw from disputed border areas.

The gun battles have prompted civilians to flee the area. As many as 12 Thai soldiers and two villagers were injured in last night’s clashes, Sansern said.

Military Spending

Thailand’s $264 billion economy is more than 26 times the size of Cambodia’s. The Cambodian army spent $123 million in 2008, compared with $4.1 billion for the military in Thailand, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Abhisit said yesterday that the army acted to protect the country and wouldn’t invade Cambodia. He condemned the shelling of civilians and called for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

“We will solve the border issue with peaceful methods,” he said. “This is the right way to benefit people and solve the problems for the long term.”

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled in a 9-3 vote that Cambodia had sovereignty over Preah Vihear. The court didn’t rule on the disputed land near the temple.

--With assistance from Anuchit Nguyenin Bangkok. Editors: Patrick Harrington, Ben Richardson.