Thai FM no show as JBC meeting ends

In between: Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa (right) talks to Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on the sidelines of the two-day Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Friday. JP/Ricky Yudhistira

Sat, 04/09/2011
Mustaqim Adamrah
The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java

The Indonesia-brokered Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting on demarcation for land boundaries in Bogor, south of Jakarta, ended on Friday, but the results of the meeting remain unclear.

Despite the fact that the meeting involved only senior Cambodian and Thai officials, the absence of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Bogor, while Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was present, proves that Indonesia’s diplomacy was limited and that Thailand had humiliated Indonesia as the agreed broker, an expert said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Indonesia had no knowledge of the results of the two-day JBC meeting but hoped both delegations would inform the archipelago of the results, which were expected to be passed on to other ASEAN members for a progress report.

“We cannot anticipate the outcome [of the JBC meeting],” he told reporters at the Bogor Palace on the sidelines of the meeting.

“But we need to underline that things are getting better, with Cambodia and Thailand having chosen to settle the outstanding problem between them through diplomacy,” he said.

Marty said he also had “a very good constructive discussion” earlier that day with Namhong at the Palace on the meeting and the finalization of terms of reference for the deployment of Indonesian observers to the disputed Thai-Cambodia border area.

However, Marty refused to disclose the results of his meeting with Namhong.

“[I will] continue to deliberate with my Thai foreign minister colleague [on terms of reference for the deployment of Indonesian observers] when he arrives in Jakarta,” Marty said.

He said he would look for the best opportunity to discuss the terms of reference with both Piromya and Namhong on the sidelines of an ASEAN-Japan meeting scheduled on Saturday afternoon.

“We already received confirmation that Thailand will discuss this matter with Cambodia and Indonesia,” he said.

At an Indonesian-brokered ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 22, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to accept a team of Indonesian observers to the disputed area adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple, where heavy fighting erupted in February.

However, more than a month later and after almost no progress on the terms of reference, the observer team remains in Jakarta and Thailand’s military now says it is not needed.

Thai media earlier quoted Thai army chief Gen. Prayut Chan-O-Cha as saying that the observers were not wanted in the disputed area, which is near an 11th-century temple, because it was too dangerous and they would only complicate matters.

Parahyangan University ASEAN expert Bantarto Bandoro said the Thai foreign minister, who was absent in Bogor, would not likely be serious in discussing the terms of reference in another meeting, if any, on Saturday because of the different atmosphere and context given by the ASEAN-Japan meeting.

“[The ASEAN-Japan] meeting is not designed to settle the Thai-Cambodia issues,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Bantarto said Piromya’s absence might imply that Thailand still had preservation it did not want to share with a third party during negotiations with Cambodia.

That could mean that Thailand had humiliated Indonesia because it, along with Cambodia, had agreed to have Indonesia as the broker in the border dispute, he said.

“It also shows that Indonesia’s diplomacy was not maximum. As a broker, Indonesia should have been able to persuade both countries to be present at the same time,” he said.

He also said Piromya’s absence in Bogor would also tarnish Thailand’s image, while Cambodia would gain benefit from that momentum by showing to the world that Thailand lacked strong commitment to settling the problem.