Thai military standing firm to protect national security

By NNT
Pattaya Mail (Thailand)

BANGKOK, 7 June 2011 – Supreme Commander General Songkitti Jaggabatara reaffirms that the military are duty-bound to protect the country’s sovereignty while negotiations with Cambodia over the disputed area depend mainly on the government.

General Songkitti stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be responsible for collating related information about the Preah Vihear case and lodging it to the International Court of Justice for consideration while the military will take care of the nation’s sovereignty only.

The supreme commander continued that the government will be responsible for mapping out a policy guideline for the negotiation with the neighbouring rival.

Thai war games intended to intimidate Cambodia? Thai supreme commander considers Cambodia as Thailand's ENEMY

Navy forces fire an Exocet missile from the HTMS Ratcharit, a fast-attack boat, during regularly scheduled military exercises in the Gulf of Thailand near Sattahip. Whilst watching the exercises, Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara said that Thai forces were “resolute” in protecting the country’s sovereignty.

Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara returns salutes as he boards the HTMS Chakri Naruebet to watch naval exercises off Sattahip.

Thai Supreme Commander rules out negotiations with Cambodia at Sattahip war games

Friday, 29 April 2011
By Patcharapol Panrak
From Issue Vol. XIX No. 17
Pattaya Mail (Thailand)

Presiding over the Royal Thai Navy’s annual training exercises in Sattahip, Thailand’s top military commander ruled out negotiations with Cambodia until that country’s forces cease hostilities in the latest rounds of deadly border clashes.

Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara said during an April 22 speech at Sattahip Naval Base that Thai forces were “resolute” in protecting the country’s sovereignty and will not hesitate to attack Cambodia forces if necessary. “Negotiations are not in the plans if our enemies choose to disrupt peace in our country,” he said.

Navy forces fire an Exocet missile from the HTMS Ratcharit, a fast-attack boat, during regularly scheduled military exercises in the Gulf of Thailand near Sattahip. Whilst watching the exercises, Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara said that Thai forces were “resolute” in protecting the country’s sovereignty.

Unrest stirs between [Thai] ministry and [Thai] army

13/04/2011
Thanida Tansubhapol
Bangkok Post

Signs of conflict between the Foreign Ministry and the Thai Army emerged when Supreme Commander Songkitti Jaggabatara said last week that Indonesian observers would not be allowed to enter the disputed border area.

Gen Songkitti also said an agreement the Foreign Ministry had reached with Cambodia and Indonesia to send Indonesian observers to the disputed border area "has nothing to do with the military".

The deal was made on Feb 22 when Indonesia, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, called the Asean Foreign Ministers meeting in Jakarta to resolve the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. The meeting ended with the two countries accepting an Indonesian observer team be stationed along their common border.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya did not directly respond to Gen Songkitti's comment but said Thailand is an open society and everybody is free to express their opinions.

[Thai General] Songkitti rejects Indonesian observers [... when the generals are politicking!!!]

Military 'unhappy with Kasit over border meet'

6/04/2011
Wassana Nanuam & Thanida Tansubhapol
Bangkok Post

Songkitti (Photo: TNA)

Indonesian observers will not be allowed to enter the disputed border area surrounding the centuries-old Preah Vihear temple, Supreme Commander Songkitti Jaggabatara says.

Gen Songkitti led the chiefs of the army, the navy and the air force in making the statement at a press conference after a meeting of the military top brass at the Royal Thai Air Force headquarters yesterday.

It was the first time Thai military leaders have formally announced their position on the issue.

Preah Vihear temple hostilities over : Thai and Khmer army chiefs

Friday, September 11, 2009
By Rasmei Kampuchea/Asia News Network, Deutsche Presse Agentur

Phnom Penh - Cambodian and Thai armed forces chiefs said 13 months of sometimes-fatal hostilities around the ancient Preah Vihear temple are at an end.

After the meeting, Thai Supreme Commander Gen Songkitti Jaggabatra said the dispute would no longer be allowed to damage relations between the two kingdoms.

"I would like to clarify again that there will be no more problems between Thailand and Cambodia. The border will not be the cause of any further disputes," he said.

"Cambodia and Thailand can not live separately. As Asean members, both countries shall not be in any cannot confrontation," said Songkiti.

At least seven soldiers from both sides were killed in occasional clashes around the temple complex since mid-2008 in a tense standoff that has had other members of the Asean regional bloc concerned.

Meanwhile Songkitti's counterpart; Gen Pol Saroeun echoed; "We have the same view. Our goal is to achieve peace and solidarity with each other as siblings."

Their meeting came just days after Prime Minister Hun Sen announced Cambodia would cut the number of troops stationed at Preah Vihear after Thailand reduced its forces to just 30 soldiers.

Preah Vihear Temple has been at the heart of controversy between Thailand and Cambodia. In 1962, the World Court granted ownership of the temple to Cambodia. The conflict erupted again after the Unesco listed it into the World Heritage List, a move that draw opposition from the Thai side.

Top army leaders of Cambodia, Thailand meet in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The top army leaders of Cambodia and Thailand met in Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh on Monday to reiterate their good cooperation and to strengthen their relationship.

Cambodia's military sources said during the meeting Gen. Pol Saroeun, commander-in-chief of Cambodian Royal Armed Forces, and Songkitti Jaggabatara, supreme commander of the Thai army, reiterated their statements of making good cooperation and relations, especially, between the armies of the two nations.

Both Pol Saroeun and Songkitti affirmed that good cooperation and relations are of common interest for both nations, the sourcessaid.

The two sides, however, did not talk on redeployment of troops stationed near khmer Preak Vihear temple, saying the issue shall be left for decision by the two countries' regional commanders there.

It is the first time for Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara to make a visit to Cambodia and it is also the first time to hold such top army leaders' meeting.

But since the border dispute between the two countries occurred last year that resulted in the deaths of a number of soldiers, and several others injured, many round of talks at different levels were held including prime ministers, defense and foreign ministerial level down to regional commanders.

Songkitti Jaggabatara who arrived in Cambodia late Monday will return to Thailand on Tuesday after a planned brief sightseeing visit to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap province.

Another useless meeting with Thai military leaders to address border dispute?

Songkitti Jaggabatra

Thai Military Leaders Scheduled for Visit

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 August 2009

High-ranking Thai military commanders are slated to meet their Cambodian counterparts later this month, in an effort to address the longstanding border dispute near Preah Vihear temple and an emerging maritime dispute, officials said Friday.

Already high military tensions escalated this week, when Thailand protested Cambodia’s push for further oil exploration in the Gulf of Thailand, especially near Kuth island. Thailand said this was an encroachment of its maritime borders, a claim Cambodia denies. Both sides have had soldiers entrenched near the Preah Vihear border for more than a year.

Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatra, supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, and his deputies, Adm. Apichart Pengsritong and Air Chief Marshal Bureerat Ratanavanich, will be accompanied by some 87 Thai military officials to visit Cambodia Aug. 24.

The delegation will meet with Gen. Pol Saroeun, commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and other senior officials.

The visit “is intended to strengthen the relationship and cooperation between the two countries,” Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh told VOA Khmer. “This visit will reduce military tension in border disputes.”

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Bt 75M Compensation

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Thailand 'won't withdraw' from temple [-Another Thai flipflopping?]

Wibulsak Neepal

7/02/2009
Bangkok Post

Thailand denied on Saturday a statement by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that it had agreed to a proposed troop withdrawal plan from disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak Neepal, commander of 2nd Army Region, said no agreement on troop pullout was reached in a Friday meeting between Mr Hun Sen and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan during the latter's visit to Phnom Penh.

"There is no agreement. The matter has been raised during the defence minister's self-introduction visit to Cambodia after assuming office,'' he said.

He said that a troop withdrawal proposal would be developed by a working committee set up to handle border demarcation disputes and that he expected an outcome soon.

However, the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, which is working to resolve the outstanding issues, met in Bangkok this week without making any progress. The delegations could not agree on the name of a military team which will monitor the border area and on the name for the temple.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak stressed that even if a troop pull-out agreement was reached, Thailand was unlikely to withdraw all forces from the disputed areas. Those in charge of coordination would remain in place.

He also said troop withdrawal would not put Thailand at a disadvantage, saying the military has procedures to follow to uphold sovereignty.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak noted that the army was considering reopening Pha Mor E Daeng in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province to tourists. The area was off limits following border tension.

A source said Saturday the Cambodian prime minister demanded Thailand pull its troops out from the disputed area along the border.

"We never agreed. If we do, it will not be easy to send them back in again,'' said the source.

Supreme Commander Gen Songkitti Jaggabatara said Saturday border disputes were raised during the meeting but no agreement was reached.

He said the issues would be worked out by joint committees set up to demarcate and develop the Thai-Cambodian border.

"But we do agree there should not be any incident in the border areas,'' said the supreme commander.

Gen Songkitti was apparently referring to clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in October last year which left four soldiers dead.

Tension along the border flared up last July when Cambodia moved to have the temple of Preah Vihear listed as a world heritage site.

[Thai] Armed forces chief denies troop withdrawals at Preah Vihear

BANGKOK, Feb 7 (TNA) -- Thailand's Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara on Saturday denied an international news report from Phnom Penh that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to withdraw their troops from the disputed Preah Vihear temple.

The Thai rebuttal followed a news report Friday quoting Cambodia's prime minister after meeting Thailand's Defence Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan as saying that the two countries had resolved their main differences and had agreed to withdraw their troops Preah Vihear.

The report quoted Prime Minister Hun Sen as saying that the withdrawn troops would be replaced by joint observer teams next month to facilitate de-mining and border demarcation.

But Gen. Songkitti said Gen. Prawit's one-day official visit to Cambodia was meant only for introducing himself to Cambodian leaders after his appointment.

Despite it not being on the agenda, Gen. Prawit and Mr. Hun Sen discussed the Preah Vihear issue, but they only agreed that clashes should not occur there again, which is a positive sign, Gen. Songkitti said.

Regarding troop withdrawals from the temple area, Gen. Songkitti said, the issue would be left for further discussion by concerned committee members.

Tensions at the Thai-Cambodian border arose after Preah Vihear was awarded world heritage status by the United Nations last year. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the 11th-century temple belongs to Cambodia, but the demarcation of the surrounding land remains in dispute.

Songkitti's slap on Hun Sen's face: No deal for troop withdrawal between Hun Sen and Prawit

Songkitti Jaggabatara

No deal on troop withdrawal at border: Songkitti

7/02/2009
BangkokPost.com

Thailand and Cambodia have not agreed on troop withdrawal from disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple when Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Supreme Commander Songkitti Jaggabatara said Saturday.

Gen Songkitti, however, said Thailand and Cambodia have discussed about border conflicts, and agreed that clashes along the border should not happen in the future.

On the troop withdrawal, committees in charge of the matter will have to discuss more thoroughly on the issue in order to solve the conflicts along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Thai military chief confident Thai-Cambodian border dispute can be resolved

Thailand`s newly-appointed military commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara said Friday he is confident that the ongoing Thailand-border dispute could be resolved amicably.

10/04/2008
TNA

Gen. Songkitti, who has assumed his new post as supreme commander on Wednesday, said ther dispute between the two neighbours is being solved at the bilateral committee level and there should not be any problem if all perform their defined duties.

To date there has been no violence along the border, he said.

The two countries, both members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), remain engaged in a dispute over at least three ancient temples. The disputes stem from poor demarcation as Cambodia uses a colonial-era French map to demarcate the border, which Thailand says favours Cambodia. Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.

Meanwhile, Lt-Gen. Kanit Sapitak, Thai First Army Region commander responsible for security affairs in the country's central region, told journalists that the differences between the two countries does not pose any problem between the militaryt, civil servants and residents living near the border.

Currently, Cambodian nationals still cross into Thailand illegally to seek jobs, according to Gen. Kanit, adding that a new economic zone has been set up inside Cambodia aimed at encouraging Thai and and other foreign investors to invest in that country which could improve employment there.

Gen. Kanit will soon visit the Cambodian border at Aranyaprathet district to follow-up 4th Thai-Khmer general border committee meeting which ended recently with the parties agreeing to beautify scenery and improve the environment at the border.

Thai Army chief confident border dispute will end

Friday, October 03, 2008
TNA

Newly-appointed military commander Songkitti Jaggabatara said Friday he is confident that the ongoing Thailand-border dispute could be resolved amicably.

Gen Songkitti, who has assumed his new post as supreme commander on Wednesday, said the dispute between the two neighbours is being solved at the bilateral committee level and there should not be any problem if all perform their defined duties.

To date there has been no violence along the border, he said.

The two countries, both members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), remain engaged in a dispute over at least three ancient temples. The disputes stem from poor demarcation as Cambodia uses a colonial-era French map to demarcate the border, which Thailand says favours Cambodia. Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.

Meanwhile, Lt-Gen Kanit Sapitak, First Army Region commander responsible for security affairs in the country's central region, told journalists that the differences between the two countries does not pose any problem between the military, civil servants and residents living near the border.

Currently, Cambodian nationals still cross into Thailand illegally to seek jobs, according to Lt-Gen Kanit, adding that a new economic zone has been set up inside Cambodia aimed at encouraging Thai and and other foreign investors to invest in that country which could improve employment there.

Lt-Gen Kanit will soon visit the Cambodian border at Aranyaprathet district to follow-up 4th Thai-Khmer general border committee meeting which ended recently with the parties agreeing to beautify scenery and improve the environment at the border.