Tej: Govt is right to recall ambassador

Tej Bunnag

8/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Reports said there were only housekeepers at the Cambodian embassy.

Recalling the Thai ambassador to Phnom Penh was the right decision by the government, former foreign minister Tej Bunnag said on Sunday.

The government decided to recall its ambassador to Phnom Pehn after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's economic advisor. The Cambodian government recalled its ambassador to Thailand subsequently.

Mr Tej, who was foreign minister during the Samak Sundaravej administration, said the government's plan to terminate its offshore border agreement with Cambodia would slightly affect both countries, since the resources will still be in the area.

The Foreign Ministry will propose the idea of scrapping the agreement to the cabinet on Tuesday.

The government should create unity in the country first before discussing this issue with Cambodia, Mr Tej said.

On Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan's call for other Asean member countries to help address the Thai-Cambodian dispute, Mr Tej said he could not tell how they can help improve the situation.

Meanwhile, the situation around the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok was normal.

150 police officers were deployed to oversee security around the area, and more police will be reinforced to prevent a third party from inciting unrest.

Reports said there were only housekeepers at the Cambodian embassy.

Tej Bunnag support Kasit, even if the latter publicly attacks Hun Sen verbally on PAD rally stage - Bravo!?!?

Hun Sen is all smile greeting his verbal attacker, Kasit Piromya from the invading kingdom of Thailand. Never able to accept his Cambodian critics as he does with his Thai attackers, Hun Sen fully deserves the Siam treatment!

Ex-minister voices support for Kasit

27/01/2009
BangkokPost.com

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's role in the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will not affect the confidence of international community in Thailand, according to former foreign minister Tej Bunnag.

The ex-minister believed Mr Kasit can explain the agreements to be signed at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit at the parliamentary session.

Mr Tej expressed confidence that the foreign minister has proper qualifications to perform his job and he will not hinder the government's performance.

On Mr Kasit's verbal attack on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen when he appeared on the PAD stage, the former minister said Mr Kasit should already build a better understanding between both sides during his visit to Cambodia.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also has confidence in Mr Kasit and he is widely known as a professional diplomat, according to Mr Tej.

The prime minister said he has confidence in Mr Kasit and believes he can explain the agreements at the parliamentary meeting.

The premier said he would like the parliament to approve the agreements on Tuesday and he has no objections if the opposition wants a committee to be set up to examine them.

Thailand says border tensions eased as Cambodia talks open

Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag (right) shakes hand with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong

HUA HIN, Thailand (AFP) — Tensions over an ancient Khmer temple have eased following the withdrawal of most soldiers from the ruins, the Thai foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday as new border talks opened with Cambodia.

"The situation is moving in a positive manner. The tension is now being cooled down," Tharit Charungvat told reporters as foreign ministers from both countries began meeting in the Thai beach resort town of Hua Hin, southwest of Bangkok.

At the weekend, up to 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops pulled back from a small patch of disputed land near Cambodia's 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, suggesting that an end to the month-long military stand-off could be near.

Twenty troops from both sides remain stationed at a small pagoda in the contentious border area, while 40 Cambodian and Thai solders remain nearby.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and his Thai counterpart Tej Bunnag met for dinner late Monday in Hua Hin, and were expected to hold talks through the day Tuesday.

"The situation has improved quite a lot in regards to the standoff between the militaries from both sides," Tharit said. "The tension around the area has been eased. We hope very much that the situation will go back to normal as soon as possible."

Relations between the neighbours flared up last month after Preah Vihear was awarded world heritage status by the UN cultural body UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who still claim ownership of the ancient Khmer temple.

On July 15, Cambodia arrested three Thai protesters for illegally crossing the border to try to reach the temple, sparking the deployment of troops from both sides on the tiny patch of disputed land near Preah Vihear.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but surrounding land remains in dispute.

The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Good start for [Thai] new [Foreign] minister

Monday August 04, 2008
Bangkok Post EDITORIAL

Thailand owes a large bowl of credit to one of its former civil servants. Tej Bunnag, who already had served the country over a long career in professional service, came out of retirement to accept the most prickly political post in today's government, as foreign minister.

Immediately, he put the wheels back on the rapidly disintegrating issue of the Preah Vihear temple. Authorities must now implement the deal Mr Tej negotiated with Cambodia - to the letter, but also in spirit.

It is hard to imagine a more difficult position than the one Mr Tej assumed on July 25. His predecessor Noppadon Pattama had just been forced to resign; no cabinet member dared take the post, not even Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, on a caretaker basis. The Constitution Court had recently ruled that Mr Noppadon and the government had broken the supreme law by failing to submit to parliament its support for Cambodia's application to list Preah Vihear as a United Nations-supported World Heritage Site.

Appointed on Saturday, sworn into office during an audience with His Majesty the King on Sunday, Mr Tej and his team were in Siem Reap on Monday facing their counterparts on home turf. Under this pressure, at a 12-hour negotiating session, Mr Tej hammered out a satisfactory and fair agreement which had evaded previous meetings and participants.

This agreement aims to cool the ugly nationalism on both sides and end the dangerous military confrontation. It also can establish a reasonable atmosphere for future meetings on Preah Vihear - especially the overlapping territory around the temple itself.

Mr Tej has had a brave and successful debut as a cabinet minister. But work has barely started on this new chapter in the long and sometimes dangerous issue of the Preah Vihear temple and grounds.

Clearly, the most urgent task is to move Cambodian and Thai soldiers back from lines which could spark a confrontation. Both groups are commanded by responsible officers, and are aware of their orders to neither provoke nor begin hostilities. Accidents and misunderstandings occur, however, and it is vital to get some space between the two national armies.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said last week it is up to the Thai forces to move back first. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Army commander Anupong Paojinda noted no new orders have been given on either side. The insistence that one side must "go first", as the Khmer leader said, seems petulant.

A withdrawal to safer positions should be mutual - a point specifically made in the negotiations between Mr Tej and his counterpart Hor Namhong at the Siem Reap meeting. All it should take for a pull-back is authorisation from the political leaders in Bangkok and Phnom Penh, using the spirit of the Siem Reap agreement. After that, the local commanders can work out the exact form of a withdrawal everyone agrees on, ensuring that both sides live up to the letter of the pact.

Mr Tej's spectacular start in a job that no one wanted will continue as long as there is some good will on all sides. Presumably, he will continue as foreign minister after the cabinet shakeup. His lifetime of experience as a foreign affairs specialist will enhance his standing both within the ministry and in the foreign community.

He also will need backing from political quarters, including opposition when warranted. Both the Democrats in parliament and the People's Alliance for Democracy in the streets must recognise there can only be one voice when it comes to defending Thai interests in the world community.

Thailand does not want UNSC or ASEAN intervention, but yet urges France to help settle border dispute with Cambodia

France urged to help settle border row

Japanese envoy says bilateral talks enough

Saturday August 02, 2008
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL & WASSANA NANUAM
Bangkok Post

Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag has suggested that France play a role in helping Thailand and Cambodia find a solution to the sensitive dispute over the overlapping border areas surrounding the 11th century Hindu temple of Preah Vihear. The suggestion was made yesterday after French Ambassador to Thailand Laurent Bili called on Mr Tej to congratulate him on his appointment as foreign minister.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat quoted Mr Tej as saying that France could play a role in solving the problems between the neighbours.

''The role of France in this region is long-standing since the colonial period. But in the new era, France can play a constructive role in cooperating with the region and countries like Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam or Thailand,'' Mr Tej was quoted as saying.

Cambodia is a former French colony and France was the only one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which supported Cambodia in bringing the two-country border issue to the UNSC.

Mr Bili accepted that he pass on the information to his country and to an envoy based in the UNSC as the dispute was sensitive in nature and very important for the Thai people.

The ambassador also expressed his understanding over the sensitivity of the issue and said France's position was that this issue be resolved bilaterally or within the region, according to the statement of the Foreign Ministry.

Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Hideaki Kobayashi, who also called on Mr Tej yesterday, agreed that talks at the bilateral level would be enough between Thailand and Cambodia to resolve this thorny problem.

''Japan is ready to support de-mining in the area of the Preah Vihear temple as this kind of project will be a way out to help rebuild the relationship between the two countries,'' said Mr Tharit.

Mr Kobayashi praised Mr Tej for getting the talks off to a good start despite being in the job for just one day before the Siem Reap meeting.

At the National Security Council meeting on Wednesday, the operational-level officials could not reach any agreement on troop withdrawals.

However, a meeting of policy-makers will be held soon to discuss the issue again.

Meanwhile, Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niempradit has given assurances Thailand and Cambodia would remain on speaking terms despite their problems.

He was speaking after a meeting of supreme commanders of the Asean countries at a hotel in Bangkok yesterday.

The Asean supreme commanders met to discuss military measures at the regional level needed to tackle problems such as epidemics, terrorism and disasters.

Regarding the Thai-Cambodia border dispute, Gen Boonsrang said soldiers of the two neighbouring countries know each other well enough and can talk to each other.

Soldiers would be instrumental in bringing about understanding as they speak ''the same language'', he said.

Gen Boonsrang said he was told by Cambodia's supreme commander at the meeting that there was no problem.

He said soldiers had nothing against each other, but sometimes those in power tend to dictate to soldiers.

Gen Boonsrang said military commanders are due to discuss the Thai-Cambodia border issue with the foreign minister in the next few days.

PREAH VIHEAR DISPUTE: New [Thai] minister expects talks to be positive

July 28, 2008
The Nation

Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag expects a positive outcome from his talks today with his Cambodian counterpart in Siem Reap on the military stand-off at Preah Vihear.

Tej, a retired career diplomat and a member of the Privy Council who was appointed foreign minister two days ago, pledged to perform to the best of his ability as he was sworn in by His Majesty the King yesterday afternoon. He replaced Noppadon Pattama, who quit over the controversy of listing Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

Tej will lead a Thai delegation in a crucial meeting with Hor Nam Hong, the Cambodian minister, this morning and will return to Bangkok tonight.

"I expect a positive outcome from the ministerial meeting. The issue is very complicated but based on the good long-standing relations between the two countries, I believe we should be able to work the problem out," Tej said yesterday.

Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun said yesterday that he believed Tej would help improve the government's image, in addition to contributing his expertise in international relations.

Tej's appointment came at a critical juncture as Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, looked set to win another majority in the country's general election. Tej yesterday chaired a meeting of senior Foreign Ministry officials, including permanent secretary Virasakdi Futrakul and spokesman Tharit Jarungwat, on the deteriorating relations with Cambodia.

Tharit quoted the new minister as saying the dispute over the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple was complicated.

"If Cambodia shows sincerity and is open-minded in the talks by not setting any conditions, I believe the negotiations on Monday will go well. The two countries have excellent relations, which will help the talks," Tharit quoted Tej as saying.

However, talks on this sensitive issue will certainly take time and could not be settled in a single meeting.

Tharit stressed the Thai military was stationed in Thai territory only.

He said Thailand was sincere in resolving the conflict as evidenced by its willingness to keep the problem between the two countries at a bilateral level in 2004 when the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh was burned down during an anti-Thai riot.

Asked whether the talks today would produce a conclusion, Tharit said he expected conclusions at a certain level.

Asked whether Thailand was concerned about Cambodia's tactic of trying to woo international support for its cause, Tharit said Bangkok was ready to clarify matters to the international community and wanted to keep the conflict at a bilateral level.

Meanwhile, Thai Ambassador to Phnom Penh Weerapan Watcharathit said Cambodia had arranged the ministerial meeting at the Angkor Palace Spa and Resort in Siem Reap.

The ambassador was confident there would not be any protest against Thailand in the province because organisers of protests in Cambodia would have to seek permission from the government and none had done so.

New [Thai] foreign minister works on temple policy

Monday, July 28, 2008
Bangkok Post

His Majesty the King gave his good wishes to new Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag at an oath-swearing ceremony at Klai Kangwon Palace in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district yesterday.

The King encouraged Mr Tej to fulfil his duty to the country to the best of his ability.

"This is an important duty. I hope you do not have too many problems in carrying out your work in the best interests of the country," said the King.

Today, Mr Tej leads Thai negotiators to the Siem Reap meeting attempting to end the border row with Cambodia.
----------------------
Earlier report:

New Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag on Sunday met with ranking officials on the dispute over overlapping land adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

Officials said they hoped the Cambodian government, fresh from an election victory on Sunday, would be more open-minded and will not set conditions during negotiations.

Mr Tej, appointed Saturday as foreign minister, was to have an audience with His Majesty the King on Sunday evening at the Klaikangwon Palace in Hua Hin for the customary swearing-in ceremony.

His first official duty then will be to lead the Thai delegation to border talks in Poipet, Cambodia.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Mr Tej was to be accompanied to the audience by several senior officials including Lt-Gen Suchit Sitthiprapha, commander of the Second Army Region responsible for security affairs in northeastern Thailand. He will also take part in the Monday talks.

Realising that the problem contains a lot of complexity, the ministry spokesman said the "upcoming negotiations will be conducted on the basis of good neighbourly relations".

Monday's talks will be the second round after last Monday's General Border Committee meeting collapsed at the Thai border district of Aranyaprathet.

"Thailand hopes that Cambodia would become more open-minded and will not set conditions for the negotiations," the spokesman said.

Earlier complaints by Cambodia that Thai troops had moved into the contested area were inaccurate, the spokesman said.

An agreement in 2000 stipulated that before any border demarcation, environment would not be destroyed by either side, the spokesman said.

But Cambodian civilians and military have already settled in the disputed area.

Thailand has warned Cambodia four times on this issue to strictly follow the agreement, he added.

New Thai foreign minister attends briefing on temple row with Cambodia

BANGKOK, July 27 (TNA) - Admittedly facing an uphill task as Thailand is enveloped in a diplomatic and military crisis with neighbouring Cambodia, newly appointed Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag attended a briefing Sunday intended to bring him up to speed for Monday's meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhongin in Siem Reap which will focus on the historic Preah Vihear temple and its environs.

Mr. Tej returned from Sweden before dawn Sunday, saying he would attend a briefing at the foreign ministry before having an audience with His Majesty the King at the palace in the evening for a customary swearing-in ceremony before officially taking up his post.

The seasoned diplomat was appointed foreign minister by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Saturday.

So far, he said he had not yet talked to Mr. Samak.

The most urgent task for the new foreign minister is to hold official talks with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong on Monday in the Cambodian province of Siem Reap regarding the 4.6-square-kilometre contested area at Preah Vihear temple, which gained a World Heritage site listing from UNESCO for the Cambodian government earlier this month.

Both countries have reinforced their troops along the common border, especially near the 11th century temple, after the UNESCO listing of the temple as the World Heritage site, causing tensions and depressing trade and tourism between the two countries which are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Meanwhile, a small group of activists who have been holding a vigil near the ancient temple in a bid to protect Thailand's sovereignty have moved further inside Thailand to allow Thai soldiers to patrol the border more conveniently.

Their decision to move to a Thai government outpost, the Si Sa Ket bush fire control station, came after a woman who was earlier briefly detained by Cambodian soldiers guarding the temple became ill and was sent to a provincial hospital for treatment.

The sick woman along with a man and a Buddhist monk earlier this month crossed the border intending to raise the Thai national flag atop the ancient Hindu edifice. They were captured but were released by the Cambodian troops a few hours later.

Anand: Tej appointment 'a blessing'

New FM to lead Thai team to temple talks

Sunday July 27, 2008
By Bangkok Post and Reuters

The appointment of Tej Bunnag as new foreign minister is a blessing for the government, giving its image a much-needed boost, said former prime minister Anand Panyarachun.

"It is the government's good luck to have Mr Tej as foreign minister. He could restore the government's image," said Mr Anand, who was once permanent secretary at the Foreign Ministry.

His Majesty the King issued a royal command appointing Mr Tej, former permanent secretary for foreign affairs, as foreign minister yesterday.

Mr Anand said Mr Tej has good knowledge and background in the area, and is an outstanding foreign ministry senior official.

However, he declined to comment on whether Mr Tej could help solve the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over the 4.6sqkm overlapping area surrounding Preah Vihear temple.

"He comes [being appointed as foreign minister] in unusual circumstances and he has to cope with prolonged problems made in the past," Mr Anand said.

Mr Tej's first mission is to lead Thai negotiators to the Siem Reap meeting to end the border row with Cambodia tomorrow.

He is not in the country at present.

He is expected to return to Thailand today to pledge allegiance to the King before taking office.

Mr Tej said by telephone that he had been notified of the appointment. He would get a briefing at the Foreign Affairs Ministry today.

He said he was well acquainted with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Supreme Commander Gen Boonsrang Niempradit said the armed forces would send Niphat Thonglek, director-general of the Border Affairs Department, and Lt-Gen Dan Meechu-at, head of the Survey Department, to join Mr Tej's delegation to the meeting with his Cambodian counterpart.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and the opposition Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said they believed that the negotiations could yield a positive result because Cambodia's election would end today.

In Cambodia, thousands of migrant workers left the Cambodian capital yesterday for their hometowns and villages to cast their votes in a general election today overshadowed by the temple row.

Buses and pick-up trucks leaving Phnom Penh were packed as Cambodia enjoyed a "cooling off" day on the eve of voting in a poll almost certain to give another five-year term to Hun Sen, prime minister for the last 23 years.

Hun Sen, who has run Cambodia since 1985, is Asia's longest-serving leader. His reputation as a strongman who intimidates rivals has served him well, with voters rallying around the leader as Cambodian troops faced off with Thai soldier over contested land near the temple.

People show strong enthusiasm to vote, said Tep Nitha, of Cambodia's National Election Committee.

Campaigning was more orderly than Cambodia's previous exercises in a democracy created by the United Nations in the early 1990s to bring an end to more than two decades of war and upheaval, including the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields".

Many of Cambodia's 8.1 million voters said they were concentrating on more practical matters, such as choosing a government to oversee a booming economy now threatened by soaring inflation.

"This is a very important day. We have to choose a good leader to create more jobs for us," Svay Sokha, a 24-year-old garment worker, said as she and her friends waited for a bus to the eastern province of Kampong Thom.

Hun Sen's former communist, but now firmly free-market Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is virtually assured of victory, thanks in large part to near double-digit annual economic growth in the past five years.

Most analysts expect the CPP to win an outright majority in the 123-seat parliament.

New Thai foreign minister will seek to end border row with Cambodia

Sat, 26 Jul 2008
DPA

Bangkok - A retired career diplomat was appointed Thai foreign minister Saturday in time to lead fresh talks with Cambodia over a bitter border dispute. Tej Bunnag is widely considered a "professional choice" following the resignation of his successor Noppadon Pattama earlier this month, according to local reports.

Noppadon, the former lawyer for controversial former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became tripped up by appearing to give ground to Cambodia in exchange, it is rumoured, favours for his old boss.

The countries are holding urgent talks Monday in Siem Reap in a bid to defuse a row over joint claims to land adjoining an ancient Hindu temple on their border that threatens to escalate out of control.

Opposition activists have used the temple dispute as a stick beat the government with in a country where nationalist claims lie near the surface of political life. Cambodian reaction has been equally stubborn as a general election nears.

Tej Bunnag, 65, educated at Malvern College and Cambridge University in Britain, has served as ambassador to China, France, the United Nations and the United States.

Preah Vihear, an 11th-century Hindu temple built on a 525-metre- high cliff on the Dongrak mountain range that defines the Thai- Cambodian border, has been the cause of a border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia for decades.

In 1962, the two countries agreed to settle joint claims to the temple at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Cambodia won, but the court stopped short of defining the border in the area.

Thailand claims that a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjoining the temple is still disputed.

The ancient spat got a fresh start earlier this month when UNESCO agreed to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site. The inscription excluded the 4.6 square kilometres of disputed territory, and Thailand protested the listing.

Noppadon, who first backed the Cambodian proposal and then reversed his position, was forced to resign after failing to block the listing of Preah Vihear.

The spat escalated from a diplomatic row to a potential military conflict last week, when three Thais were detained for entering the disputed temple territory.

Although the threesome were quickly released, troops were called in from both sides to protect their border.

While Cambodia first appealed to the Association of South-East Asian Nations and then the UN Security Council to get involved in the border standoff, both bodies have urged the two countries to settle the matter bilaterally.

A bilateral meeting Monday between Cambodian Defence Minister Teah Banh and General Boonsrang Niempradit, supreme commander of the Thai Army, in Sa Kaeo province, Thailand, 270 kilometres east of Bangkok, failed to find a quick fix to the joint claims on the temple's surrounding area.

The temple sits on the border between Si Sa Khet and Phrea Vihear provinces in Thailand and Cambodia, respectively, and is about 400 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.

The border spat has come at a sensitive time politically for both Cambodia and Thailand. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen faces a parliamentary election Sunday, and Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is under mounting pressure to resign, in part over his government's alleged mishandling of the Preah Vihear affair.

Tej Bunnag appointed new Thai foreign minister

BANGKOK, July 26 (TNA) -- Tej Bunnag, currently advisor to the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private secretary, was on Saturday appointed Thailand's new minister of foreign affairs, succeeding Noppadon Pattama who resigned mid-July as a casualty of the row over the the ancient Khmer temple of Preah Vihear with Cambodia.

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej gave the royal endorsement to Mr. Tej as foreign minister Saturday afternoon.

Mr. Tej, a former permanent secretary for foreign affairs, is expected to have an audience with His Majesty the King on Sunday at the palace for a traditional swearing-in ceremony before officially taking up his post.

The most urgent task for the new foreign minister is to hold official talks with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong next Monday in the Cambodian province of Siem Reap regarding the 4.6-square-kilometre contested area at Preah Vihear temple, which gained a World Heritage site listing from UNESCO for the Cambodian government earlier this month.

While hopes are improved for a positive outcome of Monday's talks between the two men, the issue remains complex and emotion-laden for both countries.

The two ministers have had a long acquaintance, including a period during the 1990s when men represented their countries as ambassador to France.

Tej, 64, studied at Oxford and Cambridge and began his career with the Foreign Ministry in 1969.

Mr. Tej was formerly a co-chairman of the Thailand-Cambodia Commission for Promotion of Cultural Cooperation to boost friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The post of foreign minister was left vacant since Mr. Noppadon resigned on July 14, days after the Constitution Court ruled that his signing of a joint document backing Cambodia's bid to list the long-disputed Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site without endorsement by the Thai parliament was in breach of the country's supreme law.