By Olivia Rondonuwu, Reuters
JAKARTA -- Southeast Asian leaders failed to achieve any breakthrough on Sunday to end deadly border skirmishes between Thailand and Cambodia that overshadowed a regional summit in Jakarta supposed to showcase progress towards economic integration.
The clashes around crumbling Hindu temples in disputed areas have starkly illustrated the tensions between countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that could derail plans to create a single economic community by 2015, and the apparent inability of the bloc to deal with disagreements.
Indonesia, host of the 18th ASEAN summit, has been pressing for a deal that would prevent the meeting being marred by the border dispute. But in the end all that was achieved was a face-saving announcement that the Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers would stay an extra day in Jakarta for more talks.
"I'm coming here not to create a war of words," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told a news conference in which he announced the extra round of talks. The two sides have spoken plenty of times in recent weeks, but without finding a resolution to clashes that have killed 18 people since April.
ASEAN, a collection of authoritarian states and nascent democracies, has a policy of noninterference in each other's domestic affairs, and so has struggled to resolve the border dispute which -- although on the surface about ownership of some ancient temples -- is being driven by domestic political dynamics in both Thailand and Cambodia.
Thai Elections Complicate Dispute
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told Reuters on the sidelines of the summit he will go to the polls on July 3. With elections approaching, the border issue is one that he can try to use to unite Thais behind him. He will certainly not be looking to make any concessions that would lose him votes.
The party seen as the biggest rival of Abhisit's Democrats is Peua Thai, a political vehicle for exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who has close ties with Hun Sen and was briefly even an official adviser to him.
Abhisit insisted that Thailand wanted peace and was not looking to score political points.
"The ultimate objective must be to achieve lasting peace, so that both our peoples can live peacefully side-by-side along the Thai-Cambodian border," he said in a press briefing.
But he laid the blame for the border tensions squarely on Cambodia, fueling skepticism over whether the extra day of talks on Monday will achieve anything.
Other ASEAN nations were not happy with the tension. "It is very important that we hold together," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the region's leaders at the summit, adding the group faced enormous challenges.
"They need to ponder how badly the ill will generated would impede ASEAN collaboration on projects ... An ASEAN disunited will be taken less seriously by investors," said Singapore's state-controlled Straits Times newspaper in an editorial.
Security Challenges
Singapore leader Lee Hsien Loong did not attend the summit, staying at home for general elections that saw the ruling People's Action Party easily returned to power as expected. But the foreign minister lost his seat in a landmark vote for an opposition bolstered by a more skeptical younger generation.
The rest of the region's leaders, meeting in a cavernous conference center with an intricately carved wooden ceiling, have also struggled to engage the region's 500 million people in a project to build an economic community with free movement of people and goods by 2015.
"If the Cambodia and Thailand situation gets worse, then I'm afraid they might have to postpone it to 2020 or even put it on hold," said Enrico Tanuwidjaja, an analyst at OSK-DMG Group in Singapore.
In a venue patrolled by hundreds of police and military personnel after worries over reprisal attacks by Islamists in Indonesia following the killing of Osama bin Laden, leaders were discussing security challenges such as food and energy supply.
The group ranges from oil and gas-rich Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia, and the world's top rice exporter Thailand, to port trading center Singapore, resource-scarce Cambodia and the Philippines, and impoverished Myanmar and Laos.
The fast-growing region has again become a magnet for emerging market investors and is trying to develop its US$1.8 trillion economy by negotiating bilateral trade deals with the European Union and improving transport links with key trading partner China.
Previous meetings have often been overshadowed by controversy over member Myanmar. ASEAN leaders agreed to give Myanmar presidency of the group in 2014, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters, a move likely to attract howls of protest from the West, further denting the bloc's credibility.
9 comments:
Go back and shoot each others to death. See if anyone care about you two dick-tator..
These guy should fight each other themself, and not uses the people or country to kill each other.
Asian as shit, they never ever take leading role on anything, they are all a bunch of opium users, their role to get pay without do the job.
Yes Hun Sen had took an advantage to win the majority of seat at 2008 election due to Preah Vihar conflict .So today it is Abhisit Vejjajiva 's turn . Then
Hun Sen you should do whatever to keep up the conflict endures as long as until Abhisit Vejjajiva pass election . Moreover as the territory conflict continue occur ,the Jasmine revolt could be never happening in both countries . So thank to this event that the both sides could keep their government cabinets going !beside it also allows to the media team could work overtime .
Thai today politic is almost the same USA politic in Vietnam from 19 60 t0 1975.
During this time, Thai helped the US to bomb Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam, because the US Army only have the virus of communist in their mind. They feel, they was able to eliminate the communist in Vietnam by doing the big wars. But they lost the war and leave the innocent people alone.
Now, the Thai government is going into the same situation of attacking Cambodia. Because Thai has the Khmer virus in their body and mind. They have the feeling, must eliminate the Khmer included Khmer Surin plus other Khmer descents in Thailand from this planet. Afterward they can inform the world, that Thai is the descent people of the former Khmer King Jayavarman.
But please, remembered at the end we real Khmer will win this fight again the Thai aggressors,because we have the Khmer blood.
Hun Sen tries to listen Abpisit talking behind his back if he talks in Khmer language then Hun Sen will turn around and talk back but unfortunately, Hun Sen doesn't understand anything.
Calm is a way to treasure. Deplomacy solution is a smartnees of human kind. Border issue can be solved peacfully oneday. Stop igniting war. It will go no where but hurts both countries and the innocent people.
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,
Thai is an asian trator of the southeast asia since world war i and world war 2. Thai allowed the white to use their country to attack all asian nations including but limited to, USSR, Viet, Khemer, Chinese, Japany, Burma, Loas, Indonesia and more. In other words they helped the white to attack their neighbouring countries instead of loving your neighbours like you loved yourself. Therefore, now is the time to reflect back about what went wrong in southeast asia. The end has to come and it has to be done on earth and as it is in heaven. Asian nations have to make Thai nation pay for what they have done for over centuries.
I warned Thai to stay away from Khmer but they insisted to continue to do more harm, so from here there will be no more mercy on for you since you have done so much damaged to us. It is called "karma' and now is the time for all asian nations to come together targeting the Thai trator.
Wisdom
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