Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Thailand's Premier Visits Cambodia Battle Zone as Both Sides Seek Talks

Apr 26, 2011
By Daniel Ten Kate
Bloomberg

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva headed to a border area to visit residents displaced by a week-long clash with Cambodian forces, as one of his aides said a resolution to the conflict may be reached within days.

Abhisit visited camps for a few hours today in Surin province, where battles have killed at least 13 people since April 22. Both sides blame each other for starting the fighting that continued for a sixth day along their disputed border, the site of sporadic clashes over disputed temples since 2008.

A resolution to the conflict could take place “sooner rather than later, maybe in two or three days,” Sirichoke Sopha, an aide to Abhisit and a lawmaker in the premier’s Democrat party, said by phone. “War isn’t good for anyone.”

Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan pulled out of planned cease-fire talks after Cambodian media reports indicated they were a sign that Thailand was surrendering, deputy army spokesman Veerachon Sukondhadhpatipak said by phone today. Abhisit told reporters later that Prawit was heading to China on a business trip today, and would reschedule the meeting.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said today that the countries could hold one-on-one negotiations over Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples, where most of this week’s fighting has occurred, Xinhua reported, citing comments to reporters in Phnom Penh. Talks over Preah Vihear temple, a United Nations World Heritage Site, must be resolved with a third party, the report said.


“Cambodia doesn’t want the conflict to spread further,” Xinhua quoted Hun Sen as saying.

Meeting Planned

A meeting between Prawit and Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh would take place in Phnom Penh “in the very near future,” Cambodia’s defense ministry said in a statement yesterday. Today it accused Thailand of trying to seize Ta Moan temple as fighting with “heavy weaponry” continued.

Thailand denies any territorial ambitions and says it’s acting in self defense.

“It is quite simple to settle this border conflict,” Veerachon said. “If Cambodia stops firing, nothing will happen.”

The latest fighting is more than a hundred kilometers (62 miles) from Preah Vihear temple, the site of battles in February that claimed at least 10 lives and displaced 30,000 people. The border conflict erupted in 2008 after Thailand opposed Cambodia’s efforts to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

Casualty Toll

Five Thai soldiers and one civilian have been killed in fighting over the past week, Veerachon said. Seven Cambodian soldiers have also died, the Phnom Penh Post reported yesterday.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled in a 9-3 vote that Cambodia had sovereignty over Preah Vihear. It didn’t rule on the land surrounding the temple, and the two countries also have yet to reconcile 10,422 square miles (26,993 square kilometers) of disputed waters in the Gulf of Thailand that may contain oil and gas reserves.

Thailand’s $264 billion economy is more than 26 times the size of Cambodia’s. The Cambodian army spent $191 million in 2009, compared with $4.9 billion for the military in Thailand, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Thailand’s $264 billion economy is more than 26 times the size of Cambodia’s. The Cambodian army spent $191 million in 2009, compared with $4.9 billion for the military in Thailand, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute."

=Thailame billion dollars economy and billion dollars of spending on their military may be astronomical but if the border conflict with Cambodia continue and no country on Earth would have the confident in investing or do business in Thailame! So the billion Thailame economy will crumble and so too the decline in spending for the Siem military thugs!

Nothing can destroy the economy of one country quicker than war... quicker than a quicksand!

Anonymous said...

All Khmer must understand that the Khmer-Thai war is simply ah Youn trick to turn away Khmer and the world attention from its strategy to swallow Cambodia. Have you seen while Youn prime minister come to meet Hun Sen to accelerate to finish installing the border posts, in the mean time, Preah Vihear clash happened? Each accuse each other whom the first start the fire. As the Khmer people, do you always believe that Thai started to fire first? Have you seen Thai start the first as what CPP government backed by Youn? Do you always believe CPP government what they told you? Is CPP a credible government? If they want to finish that war is very sample. They need simply to bring that case to the UN Security Council and insist them to result the case by the UN rather the ASEAN. The case come to ASEAN was the YOUN plan, it s happen because Ah Horn am Hong is a YOUN who manage the case accordingly to Ah Youn plan. If the case resulted by the UN Khmer will have advantage on everything accordingly to the peace accord agreement on October 23th 1991. That accord will result the same time the Youn encroachment on Khmer land. That is why, ah Youn and ah Hun Sen Gang always wishes that ASEAN result that case. You do remember that ah Hun Sen said that war will last many years, they know that in their plan is to create that war to turn Khmer attention away from what Ah You is swallowing Cambodia such as: Boeung Kak issue, Prey Lang, Border encroachment, Youn immigration, Oil drilling management, atrocity to Khmer people and so many more. This war is also to help Youn economics to export their good to Cambodia when Thai border is unstable. More and more I believe Khmer is on the brink of REVOLUTION which is the only way to save Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

"Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva headed to a border area to visit residents displaced by a week-long clash with Cambodian forces, as one of his aides said a resolution to the conflict may be reached within days."

=Why the Cambodian military want to have anything to do with the Primate of Thailame named AH Abishit Vagina? So the image on TV of displacement of thousand and thousand of people on both sides of the country is not enough to convince this Primate of Thailame that war is not the solution to solving problem and still want to see with his own eye? I sure this Primate of Thailame want to see more killing and destruction...

This is so sadistic!

Anonymous said...

Dear Khmer Surin, Si Sa Ket and others,

We are khmer Empire. About 600 years, Siem was a small group. Up today Siem has taken huge land from us.

Thai has armed Khmer Surin soldiers and officers to fight against Khmer soldiers across the border.

Let me ask you questions.
1) What is your benefit to be Thai soldiers to kill our brothers in Cambodia ?

2) Why do you allow Thai using all of you to kill our own Khmer people in Cambodia ?

Please wake up. What ever you are doing, Thai army is going to be defeated. It is self-destruction Thai policy. Thai politic is going to the end of Kingdoom of Thailad.

3) This is the last king of Thailand. Trust me. You know it. But you dare not to say publicly.

4) Abhisit and Thai army will be defeated.

5) Politically, Kingdoom of Cambodia is the winner with the majority of the interntional support.

6) Throw your guns and uniform in the trsh barrel, then go back to your home. Do not let the Thai army and Abhisit manipulate all of you. Be Khmer Angkor !

BP

Anonymous said...

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva headed to a border area to visit residents displaced by a week-long clash with Cambodian forces, as one of his aides said.

Where is Cambodian Prime Minister? Does he need to visit Cambodian residents displaced? Or he just needs to bark from PP?
It's ashame.

Anonymous said...

tooks to me like ahbullshit's election trick to siem people! it's so obvious, you know! cambodia and the world aren't stupid, ok!

now siem ignorant people might vote for ahbullshit thinking he's a hero or something. he's an idiot and evil, if you ask me, ok!

Anonymous said...

You mother fucking stupid Khmer piece of shit, you know what happen to piece of shit like you and your fucking blinded prime minister? It will be step on, dry up and blew off by the wind. Why don’t you and your mother fuckers go back to Vietnam and eat shits so that innocence people can live in peace.

Anonymous said...

The 3,000,000 Khmer Surin never have had
problems with Khmer along the border,but
the Yellow Shirts are causing the problems.
Yesterday Thai TV talk show in KI Media News.
ដូច្នេះ អភិសិទ វេជ្ជជិវៈ ស្ដាប់តាម​ពួកអាវលឿង
បញ្ជានៅបាងកក។ ខ្មែរថៃសុរិន្ទគ្មានទំនាស់និង
រាស្រ្តខ្មែរខាងស្រុកខ្មែរទល់ដែនទេ។ជនបាងកក
អាវលឿងទេតើ?ពិតណាស់ហើយ ថៃបាងកកធ្វើ
បាបខ្មែរសុរិន្ទ។ ដំបៅមិនឈឺ យកឈើមកចាក់។