Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Thai Spies?

June 21, 2011
By Luke Hunt
The Diplomat

The animosity between Phnom Penh and Bangkok just keeps getting deeper. Thai belligerence and its sovereign claims over long-recognized Cambodian territory have inspired antagonists on both sides of the border into unwanted and occasionally nasty posturing.

Lately, that posturing has moved from the battlefields to the courts. No sooner had the shooting subsided around the stone ruins and temples at Preah Vihear, than allegations of spying emerged.

Neither side is totally pure. The charges are being used by both to feed domestic nationalist sentiment, with the Cambodian government under fire for its handling of aspects of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, while the Thai leadership is bracing itself for an unwanted but promised July 3 general election.

At the centre of the dispute is Thai national Suchart Muhammad, 32, Cambodian Ung Kimtai, 43, and Nguyen Tengyang, 37, from Vietnam, who were recently arrested in Thailand’s Sisaket Province near the Cambodian border and accused of spying on Thai paramilitary bases.


Similar charges have been laid against Thai nationals in Cambodia. Last February, a court found Veera Somkwamkid, coordinator of the Thai Patriots Network, and his secretary, Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, guilty of espionage. Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term, while Ratree was jailed for six years.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has rebuffed suggestions from Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya that the two countries should entertain the idea of a prisoner swap. Hun Sen sees the notion as tantamount to admitting that the three seized in Thailand – including a Thai and Vietnamese national – were on his government’s espionage payroll, a charge dismissed as ridiculous by the Cambodian foreign ministry.

Importantly, any swap could be construed as a victory for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is under fire from Phnom Penh for his handling of the Preah Vihear dispute, and is fending off a leadership challenge at home from the sister of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Forty-three-year-old Yingluck Shinawatra is standing for the Pheu Thai Party, and is holding up well in the polls despite accusations – which have much substance – of corruption against her brother, who has lived in self-imposed exile ever since the 2006 coup. Not forgotten in this equation is Thaksin’s tight friendship with Hun Sen and the possibility of redemption if his sister’s succeeds at the ballot box.

This was no doubt on the minds of those in the Thai foreign ministry when Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister, said the issue of the three arrested in Thailand could be raised in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

It was a legal tactic. The ICJ recognized Cambodian sovereignty around Preah Vihear way back in 1962, and Cambodia has both stunned and upset Bangkok by seeking a clarification on the ruling from the ICJ, of which it is a full member.

Any member of the ICJ must accept its rulings. Thailand, in contrast, isn’t a member, isn’t bound by ICJ rulings, and can reject its findings even if it seeks arbitration on a dispute.

As such, threats of taking Cambodia to the court over spying allegations are at best hollow, while the politics around Preah Vihear – where fierce fighting has left 28 people dead this year – have a long way to run with no genuine resolution in sight.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Spies swap should be handle after Ahbushit election. He deserve nothing to gain or win the election.

Anonymous said...

Siamese hate yuons so much, even more than Khmer, why these Siamese dont go to shoot the heads of yuons con directly. By killing or fighting against innocent Khmer Siamese put itself as weaker. It's a lose lost strategy

Anonymous said...

i know, siem use cambodia as a buffer against youn! khmer people already aware that we are a buffer state between youn and siem, really! but we understand every country in the world want a buffer state between them and their competitors, you know! so, it's nothing new for cambodia and khmer people, ok! life does go on, really! and nothing last forever, good or bad, really!

Anonymous said...

Yingluck will win the election in
July 3,2011.She maybe will bring her
brother back to Thailand.
Hun Sen and Yingluck will work well,
both will work well on preah Vihear.
She and Hun Sen will share oil on
Thailand and Cambodia bay and put
in his/her pockets.
The bad guy and bad lady will share
fortune together.

Anonymous said...

បាងកកប៉ុស្តបានបរិយាយថា តាក់ស៊ិនចង់គណៈ
បក្សតូចៗចូលរួមនិង គណៈបក្សភឿថៃដែលប្អូន
ស្រីគាត់ឈរឈ្មោះជានាយករដ្ធមន្ត្រី។
បក្សភឿថៃសង្ឃឹមថានឹងបាន២៧០កៅអីនៅ
07/03/2011នេះ។
កាលណាភឿថៃឈ្នះឆ្នោត ចារបុរសបីរូបត្រូវ
ជាមោឃៈ ហើយ យិងលក្ខិណាត្រូវចាប់ដៃនិង
ហ៊ុន សែនបុរសដៃដែក ភ្នែកស្ពាន់។