Agence France-Presse
A summit of Southeast Asian leaders focusing on economic integration took a dramatic turn Saturday when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen blasted his Thai counterpart over a bloody border dispute.
Hun Sen took the floor of the closed-door opening session of the two-day summit in Jakarta and accused Thailand of attacking its neighbour in a contested border area near an 11th-century Khmer temple, attendees said.
One foreign minister described the fiery Cambodian leader as "quite aggressive" and observers said the assembled Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders were surprised at the outburst.
"It became a little dramatic, but I think that's just the way that Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers speeches," Philippine presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters after the encounter: "We had a frank discussion this morning."
"We need to resolve the problem because we don't want this to be a problem that would affect ASEAN's agenda on community building," he added.
The border spat was not on the formal agenda of the two-day summit but it is overshadowing discussions on ASEAN's long-term efforts to create a closely integrated regional economic zone by 2015.
Other issues on the table include food and energy security, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the scourge of human trafficking and East Timor's membership bid.
But even before the presidents and prime ministers of the disparate 10-nation bloc sat down in Jakarta's cavernous convention centre, their discussions had been framed by negative news from troubled member states.
Myanmar stole the headlines on Friday when ASEAN officials announced that the military-led country -- which is under Western sanctions for serial human rights abuses -- had asked to chair the group in 2014.
US-based Human Rights Watch said ASEAN, already struggling for credibility, would become the "laughing stock of intergovernmental forums" if it granted the request.
ASEAN leaders are meanwhile facing mounting pressure to help end the Thai-Cambodian conflict, which has claimed 18 lives and temporarily displaced 85,000 people in weeks of clashes.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke of the dangers of rising food and energy prices, climate change and unrest in the Middle East during his opening remarks.
But without mentioning the Thai-Cambodian row, he also reminded his fellow leaders that ASEAN could no longer use the bloc's long-held principle of non-interference to shirk the need to resolve conflicts between member states.
"We realise that to ensure a peaceful and stable East Asia region, we must ensure stability and security in our region," the ex-general said.
"If conflict occurs, ASEAN must be capable of facilitating a forum for diplomacy and open dialogue with the intent of attaining common peace."
ASEAN's halting efforts to negotiate an end to the clashes are being closely watched as a litmus test of its soaring ambition to create an integrated regional community in just four years' time.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa met his counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia in Jakarta on Friday and said they had agreed to accept Indonesian military observers at the disputed frontier.
But he said the modest observer mission, which would have no power to police a ceasefire, had yet to be dispatched because of stubborn differences over troop locations.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters that Phnom Penh would never agree to Bangkok's demands to pull troops out of the Preah Vihear temple.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to ASEAN to help solve the problem peacefully," he said.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said there was little enthusiasm among ASEAN leaders for the conflict to be internationalised with direct UN involvement, as Cambodia has sought.
"I think what all the other ASEAN leaders have been saying this morning is that we should keep the conflict within the ASEAN family," he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have publicly backed ASEAN's mediation role.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
13 comments:
Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouges army. During the Khmer Rouges regime, Hun Sen was shot right into one of his eyes and the fled to Vietnam and then Hun Sen came back with Communist Vietnamese troops to invade Cambodia easily in two weeks (just a piece of the cake) and then capture the city of Phnom Penh. He was also married to his Yuon/Vietnamese woman (prostitute) falsely named as Khmer name Bun Rany. It is very strange to me.
Hun Sen was a son of peasant family. I did not know what level of his education, but he was not qualified to lead Cambodia. He has had no experiences or knowledge to lead the country of Cambodia, but he has been using the Communist Vietnamese masters and CPP Yuan members from Hanoi as his guides. That was how Cambodia has been misled and slowly developed because of those crooks and thieves. Hun Sen did not know anything about Cambodian/Khmer history and geography. Hun Sen has been cheated by his Communist Vietnamese bastards/masters and CPP Yuan cronies or members (thieves).
Success story of Hun Sen and his family is very disgusting and ugly. Can you imagine that, Khmer people?
Can anyone or Khmer/Cambodian people understand what I am talking about?
Khmer Yeurng
To Khmer Yeurng
I couldn't careless whether Hun Sen is Khmer Rouge or Khmer Alien and if he can demonstrate that Cambodia can be protect from extinction and I am all for that!
Hun Sen maybe paying too much attention to the Western border with Thailand for now and he knew that he will not stay in power forever and once again Cambodian politic will change and the new government will turn their attention to the Eastern border with Vietnam! Frankly I don't know anybody who own the house and only want to protect the entrance of the house and not the back house! Hun Sen maybe stupid but I don't think he is that stupid! Hun Sen has shown the road map in how to protect Cambodian sovereignty!
Politic are subject to change without notice!
Yes, 10:05 PM.
Hun Xen was a Khmer Rouge. After killing so many khmer, his group and him ran to Viet to get helped from Youn.
Then CPP has emerged under Communist Youn and now working for his master (Youn).
Almost all fund and loan from International has gone to Youn.
That is why there are a lots of Viet Companies in Cambodian.
Khmer so poor !!!!!!
AH YOUN HUN XEN MAKE CAMBODIA LOOK BAD AT THE ASEAN MEETING WHEN HE TOOK THE PODIUM AH PAKACH
You said Hun Sen is stupid, then all of whome that said is more stupid than Hun Sen. He has vision. Do you think that Youn is stronger than American, Chinese? American back Lon Nol and now Sam rainsy, Chinese backed khmer rouge before? Why they also lose to Hun Sen? Is youn strong or Hun sen strong? Do look just one tree, you should look whole forest and young tree. Stupid old guy still stupid till now. You want to fight Vietnam and Thailand both at the same time? You fight when you know you can not win? stupid.
That's a good one, 'Ah Pakach"! hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaha! gnorp ory chapchap tov!
10:57 PM
It is your own personal vision.
Mr Hun Sen is not too stupid to compare the Viet and US.
He sent his own children to study in west point military academy, because he has a lot of respect thought out the US government.
8:40PM
If you are Khmer (may be you too young to know about the Khmer rougue regime and civil war but if you are not Khmer, I don't think your smartest leader has the ability to build the country to grow fast as Cambodia now, less than 10 years in peacefull to build the cuontry. Before that most of the country infrastructure, human resource, ...etc were destroy to zero.
Think about it
11:48 PM
You are ridiculous!!!
8:40pm
YOU ARE JUST ANOTHER KNOCKLEHEAD
F-U KNOW YOUR ROLE PLEASE..
Hun Sen may be not a very smart guy,but he is not that stupid like
those guy just write comments in KI
and done nothing. Can't even take care own family.
Since Hun Sen was a Khmer Rouge commander of the Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime, now a Khmer Rouge leader of the Cambodian Peoples Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime and had many of his political opponents and journalists assassinated, I wonder if he have any plan to assassinate the Thai Prime Minister (Ahbullshit Vejjajiva)?
Grow up ASEAN, you are all neighbors and brothers. This is 2011, lets work to ensure that everyone gets education or vocational skills, and to lift people up, out of poverty.
The burden is on the siams to prove that they are better, and have moral and conscience. They should not act so greedy like their people and government need 4.6 km2 or the temple to enhance any of their current economic or geographical standings. Cambodia, on the other hand, needs every help any ASEAN or world countries to rebuild and develop. Stop being a greedy bully, siams!
Same is for the sneaky vietcongs.
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