The Nation
Editorial
The [Thai] government has been too slow to respond to initiatives to resolve the border dispute, leaving Cambodia with the moral high ground
Thailand needs to do a lot more work if it really wants to settle the border conflict with Cambodia over the area adjacent to the Preah Vihear Temple. The slow pace of implementation of Indonesia's proposed "peace plan" not only obstructs the peace process but also makes Thailand lose international credibility.
Like it or not, the boundary dispute between the neighbouring countries has already been internationalised, as Phnom Penh has managed to bring it to an urgent discussion at the United Nations Security Council and later at the informal meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers last month.
Cambodia went on the offensive, going to the two international forums with clear objectives to have a third party involved in the boundary conflict resolution. Thailand, under the leadership of Prime Minister AbhisitVejjajiva, has sat defensively without any clear plan.
Phnom Penh said at the UN Security Council meeting on February 14 it wanted a "permanent cease-fire" solution, and the New York meeting finally urged Asean to implement such a plan. Cambodia joined the Asean meeting in Jakarta on February 22 with a call to have Asean observers monitor the implementation of the permanent cease-fire in the areas around Preah Vihear. Indonesia, as the Asean chair, acceded to what Phnom Penh wanted, proposing to dispatch Indonesian observers to assess the situation in the disputed areas.
Thailand, on the other hand, has stuck only with its preference for the so-called "bilateral mechanism" to help solve the dispute. Of course, the international forums recognise that the two countries have many bilateral mechanisms to handle all kinds of issues, including the border, and urged both sides to utilise these mechanisms in this regard. Indonesia agreed to help facilitate them.
The problem is that none of the bilateral mechanisms have begun their work, and Thailand appears to be dragging its feet. Meanwhile the international engagements have begun to materialise. Indonesia has already outlined the modality and sent it to Thailand and Cambodia for consideration. Phnom Penh has replied to Jakarta that it agrees with the terms of reference for the observation of the border, but Thailand is still studying the documents.
Cambodia has taken the lead by moving quickly to shut down Thailand's effort to use bilateral channels to solve the dispute. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Jakarta to quickly dispatch the observers to Preah Vihear, and Cambodia will not discuss the issue in depth with Thailand without Asean or Indonesian engagement. Hun Sen wants Indonesia as a referee for negotiation with Thailand. For Hun Sen, normal bilateral talks no longer exist.
Thailand can blame nobody but itself for its lack of diplomatic skill and its domestic politics that are interfering with an international issue. Prime Minister Abhisit has allowed his political conflict with the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy to stall the Joint Boundary Committee's (JBC) work. The JBC, which oversees land boundary demarcation, has not convened a meeting since April 2009 due to the government's hesitation. It is ridiculous to ask Cambodia to sit down at this stage when the JBC mechanism is unworkable.
Thailand now has no other option but to play along with the game rules set by Cambodia. It must allow Indonesia, as the chair of Asean, to become engaged in the resolution process. The government needs to make a quick decision on the modality (form of procedure) for the Indonesian observers. The modality can be modified but Thailand has no right to reject it, since the government has already been forced to agree in principle to it.
Bilateral instruments remain but they will not be the same, as they now require Jakarta's facilitation. An urgent task for the Abhisit government is to move ahead by having Parliament pass the JBC documents in order to allow the mechanism to resume its work. Rather than continue with the rhetoric about Cambodia coming back to the bilateral meetings, Thailand should prove that the bilateral instruments actually exist and can work.
7 comments:
It sounds like someone who knows about the issue well. The first editorial article from the Nation that I can give some of my respect.
Well, this article failed to mention there are very obstinate elements within Thai politician that prevent the JBC work to continue.
Because the Thai parliament failed to approve any agreement given under JBC so far, the Abhisit government has little room to maneuver.
Hun Sen isn't that smart, it is just the obstinate Thai politicians make the job that much harder for Abhisit.
Too bad for Abhisit, his government was in bed with the PAD, now these nationalist idiots
get to tell him what to do.
Folks, Thailand is not run by an elected government but by gangs in Yellow.
By seeing this article, we can say that thailands politicians very lazy to react to react to any problem
This article is bullshiting its way out of Siem domestic problems and the fact is Siem domestic problems can't be solved by using Cambodia as scapegoat! The Siem leaders must come to term with themselves that this is Siem domestic problems and it is the Siem leaders who must solve the domestic problems!
If the Siem leaders are so stupid enough to go to war against Cambodia to solve their domestic problems then the Cambodian leaders must welcome the war whether the Cambodian leaders like it or not! When the Siem invaders dare to attack Cambodia and it is the duty of Cambodian leaders to protect Cambodia!
It may seem, especially, now that Phnom Penh has internationlised (somewhat) the border issue, that the Abhisit government is being left behind by insisting on bilateral mechanisms. But, by dragging its heels over the issue, Bangkok has long decided that it actually, notwithstanding its rhetoric to the contrary, has no desire to resolve it.
In deed, by keeping the tension and conflict alive and approving of, or encouraging, the Thai military to perform its muscle flexing exercise from time to time, the Thai government is trying its luck with nationalists and royalists who are keen to see Thailand takes matters into its own hands, including territotial 'disputes' with impoverished neighbours like Cambodia.
Had Bangkok been genuine in settling disputes with Cambodia peacefully, it would have turned to legal channels or treaties with Cambodia and use them as a main basis for seeking settlement. In stead, it has decided to play along with the PAD and those powerful royalists even while knowing fully and clearly that their complaints against Cambodia are groundless and legally indefensible.
The only surprise had been the Phnom Penh government's hesitation in confronting the Thais legally after all this time.
Ko-Prey
It is amazing how the whole country (Thailand) including this Editor on this newspaper still believing that Thai do have a case when it come to the border issues with Cambodia. They all pretend to be naive by hiding the fact from the internation world. The reason that their government is dragging their feets not because they can't work together, rather they are hoping to use it as an excuse hoping the world don't know about their trick.
12:45am you're the man!. The nation News is begining to get better view as same The editor of Bangkok post last week, he has a very good view about Abhishit and his political ego. It' socks, it stocks, it stalls and bad news for the yellow shirt teams.
Siam is nerver abondoned the bad sleaky trickies.
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