PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - The credibility and prestige of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) may be downgraded if it has no effective mechanism to settle Cambodian and Thai border row, academics warned on Thursday.
Pou Sothirak, Cambodian senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said Cambodian and Thai border row is not only damaging bilateral relations in a critical way, but also threatening regional peace and stability.
"If no effective mediation is pursued to contain it, it will undoubtedly affect the credibility and reputation of ASEAN," he said during a two-day conference on strengthening the ASEAN political-security community through preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution mechanism.
The conference brought together representatives from the Network of ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies and members of Cambodian parliament and decision makers from various Cambodian ministries.
Pou Sothirak said that the main challenges to security community are the ASEAN principles of non-interference and the norm of not putting bilateral dispute between members on the ASEAN agenda.
"The principles of non-interference and consensus are the obstacles in the realization of the security community by 2015," he said.
"ASEAN must do something right where failure would mean that the region return to the past of using force to settle disputes," he said. "This in turn will send ASEAN straight into a danger zone of losing its role as driver of the regional security architecture. "
Nem Sowath, a board member of Cambodian Institute of Cooperation and Peace, said ASEAN has played a significant role in coping with regional security issues and threat; however, it does not have appropriate and effective regional mechanism in place when it comes to territorial disputes among its member states.
"Cambodian-Thai border conflict is a case in point. It is a testing ground for ASEAN's ability to solve issues for its member states," he said.
"It is a warning signal to ASEAN to get reformed as soon as possible, otherwise ASEAN can be divided and ASEAN credibility will be downgraded." he said.
The leaders of ASEAN countries will meet on May 7-8 in the 18th summit in Jakarta, Indonesia and the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand will be included in the agenda.
"In my own opinion, ASEAN should establish a special working group or a conflict resolution mechanism in order to settle Cambodian-Thai border row," he said.
"We wish to see ASEAN to be stronger, more united and more relevant particularly in security issues in order to serve the interests of everyone."
Yeo Lay Hwee, senior research fellow of Singapore Institute of International Affairs said "frankly speaking, ASEAN has really not moved much progress towards confidence building, preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution mechanism."
Suchit Bunbongkam, president of the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia Pacific (Thailand), said the measures or conflict resolution mechanism should be established in order to settle issues for its member states and to prevent conflicts in the future.
"The principle of internal sovereignty and non-interference in ASEAN must be observed," he said. "For Cambodia and Thailand border conflict, we wish to see the issue be settled peacefully, not by armed forces."
Cambodian and Thai border has never been completely demarcated. Conflict has happened just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.
The latest flare-up had occurred from April 22 until May 3 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province, leaving 19 people on both sides killed and nearly 100,000 civilians fled homes for safe shelters.
Both sides always blamed each other for firstly triggering the attacks.
ASEAN countries consist of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
5 comments:
Koh Tral Island must not be forgotten
By Ms. Rattana Keo
Why do Koh Tral Island, known in Vietnam as Phu Quoc, a sea and land area covering proximately over 30,000 km2 [Note: the actual land size of Koh Tral itself is 574 square kilometres (222 sq miles)] have been lost to Vietnam by whose treaty? Why don’t Cambodia government be transparent and explain to Cambodia army at front line and the whole nation about this? Why don't they include this into education system? Why?
Cambodian armies are fighting at front line for 4.6 km2 on the Thai border and what's about over 30,000km2 of Cambodia to Vietnam. Nobody dare to talk about it! Why? Cambodian armies you are decide the fate of your nation, Cambodian army as well as Cambodian people must rethink about this again and again. Is it fair?
Koh Tral Island, the sea and land area of over 30,000 square kilometres have been lost to Vietnam by the 1979 to 1985 treaties. The Cambodian army at front line as well as all Cambodian people must rethink again about these issues. Are Cambodian army fighting to protect the Cambodia Nation or protecting a very small group that own big lands, big properties or only protecting a small group but disguising as protecting the Khmer nation?
The Cambodian army at front lines suffer under rain, wind, bullets, bombs, lack of foods, lack of nutrition and their families have no health care assistance, no securities after they died but a very small group eat well, sleep well, sleep in first class hotel with air conditioning system with message from young girls, have first class medical care from oversea medical treatments, they are billionaires, millionaires who sell out the country to be rich and make the Cambodian people suffer every day.
Who signed the treaty 1979-1985 that resulted in the loss over 30,000 km2 of Cambodia??? Why they are not being transparent and brave enough to inform all Cambodians and Cambodian army at front line about these issues? Why don't they include Koh Tral (Koh Tral size is bigger than the whole Phom Phen and bigger than Singapore [Note: Singapore's present land size is 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi)]) with heap of great natural resources, in the Cambodian education system?
Look at Hun Sen's families, relatives and friends- they are billionaires, millionaires. Where did they get the money from when we all just got out of war with empty hands [in 1979]? Hun Sen always say in his speeches that Cambodia had just risen up from the ashes of war, just got up from Year Zero with empty hands and how come they are billionaires, millionaires but 90% of innocent Cambodian people are so poor and struggling with their livelihood every day?
Koh Tral was a Cambodian island, and technically and legally, remained a Cambodian island until today.
Smart Khmer girl Ms. Rattana Keo,
12:22 PM
Forget about the island. It is history. It is now Vietnam's. You can have your children's children claimed it, but it is insurmountable.
Again, the island is no longer belonging to Cambodia--this is the fact.
Please take care of what you already have, and stop worrying about something that you don't have control over it.
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)?
10:03 PM is purely truely CPP and Vietnam who try very hard to brain wash all Cambodian young generation to confuse about their true identities.
The only good Vietcong is a dead Vietcong!
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