UN court orders troop drawdown in Thai-Cambodia temple row

The UN ruling, a partial win for Cambodia, may also pave the way for negotiations on the longstanding Thai-Cambodia temple dispute.

July 18, 2011

By Simon Montlake, Correspondent

The Christian Science Monitor

Bangkok, Thailand

In a closely watched ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Monday that Thailand and Cambodia should pull their troops from an ancient border temple where deadly clashes have flared in recent months.

The UN-affiliated court in The Hague called for a demilitarized zone to be set up around the temple, which belongs to Cambodia, as a way to reduce tensions. It also urged Thailand not to block access to the 11th century Hindu temple, Preah Vihear, which was awarded to Cambodia in a 1962 ruling that irked Thai nationalists. The temple lies on a hilltop easily accessible from the Thai side of the border.

The ruling is a partial victory for Cambodia, which sought help in April from the ICJ on what it called military aggression by Thailand. For its part, Thailand accuses Cambodia of provoking armed clashes along the border in order to force outside mediation, which Thailand opposes. Political analysts say both governments have fomented nationalism for their own ends.

Abhisit says [Thai] govt ready for ICJ petition defence

30/04/2011
Bangkok Post

Cambodia's request to the International Court of Justice for legal clarification to settle the border dispute around the Preah Vihear temple is not unexpected, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says.

Mr Abhisit added yesterday that he had prepared for Cambodia's petition to the ICJ and the government is ready to present its defence if necessary.

A legal consultant has been hired to prepare its points in terms of legal aspects and facts.

Cambodia has asked the ICJ to interpret the court's 1962 ruling, which awarded the ancient Hindu temple ruins to Cambodia

A statement issued by Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation yesterday said Phnom Penh felt it was necessary to have the interpretation "in order to peacefully and definitely settle the boundary problem between the two countries".

Ties with Cambodia can now be boosted

August 25, 2010
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Thaksin's resignation and good relations with Cambodia may not be good for Abhisit, since he may have no points to divert pressure from his yellow-shirt allies on the border dispute over Preah Vihear Temple

Without Thaksin, Hun Sen will have free hand to resolve border dispute

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra might be able to maintain good personal relations with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, but he was no longer useful for Phnom Penh in relations with Thailand, analysts said yesterday.

Even Thaksin's legal adviser and former foreign minister Noppa-don Pattama admitted Thaksin's resignation as an adviser to Cambodia could pave the way for the two countries to restore bilateral ties.

Opposition Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan said yesterday the resignation showed Thaksin's neutrality and international skill as he realised the Thai government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva would exploit Thaksin's status as a condition to spoil relations with Cambodia for domestic political gain.

But analysts were divided on the reasons for Thaksin's resignation.

A Cambodian official said it came at Thaksin's request, as he found it tough to fulfil his duty as an economic adviser to the Cambodian government and Prime Minister Hun Sen due to his overseas business.

Another argued that Thaksin made the decision not because of his business but realised Cambodia could not help him achieve his political goals.

Hun Sen opened his country for Thaksin to use as a meeting place for red-shirt groups, but the Cambodian premier could not do more.

Thaksin's red shirts were dispersed after a series of violent street clashes in April and May. About 80 red protesters died and some 1,900 people were hurt in the military crackdown - but the Thai elite and middle class still poured in support for the government.

It was clear Hun Sen played a "bad card" with Thaksin in regard to bilateral relations with Thailand as the former Thai premier - ousted in the 2006 coup - failed in several attempts to return to power. Hun Sen is no political novice. He must know that backing Thaksin is a negative for Cambodia.

A Phnom Penh-based analyst said Thaksin's resignation was a relief for relations with Thailand, from Hun Sen's point of view. From now on, Abhisit would not be able to blame Hun Sen for their sour relations. All allegations over a conflict of interest or Thaksin's interest in a border deal with Cambodia, which were often made by the Thai government, were no longer valid.

The appointment of Thaksin as Hun Sen's adviser was a key excuse for Abhisit to downgrade diplomatic relations with Cambodia. Abhisit scrapped a memorandum of understanding signed in 2001 on a maritime deal during Thaksin's administration, blaming Thaksin for having a personal interest in an oil concession in overlapping areas in the Gulf of Thailand.

"Let's see what [other issues] Abhisit can raise and blame Hun Sen to stall the border dispute settlement," a Cambodian official said.

But Thaksin's resignation and good relations with Cambodia may not be good for Abhisit, since he may have no points to divert pressure from his yellow-shirt allies on the border dispute over Preah Vihear Temple.

The yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, who helped install Abhisit in power, wants the government to revoke the pact on land boundary demarcation signed with Cambodia in 2000 and to use force to take over disputed areas adjacent to Preah Vihear.

But Abhisit could never do that while Thailand has good ties with Cambodia.

Eastern thief active in setling of theft by western thief?

Vietnam active in settling temple conflict

August 18, 2010
Nhan Dan (Hanoi)

Vietnam is busy consulting other ASEAN member countries on a proposal to make ASEAN play an intermediary role in settling the Preah Vihear Temple conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, said Vietnam’s foreign ministry spokesperson.

Replying to reporters’ query on Vietnam’s reaction to that proposal on August 17, spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said Vietnam’s wish is that Thailand and Cambodia solve their Preah Vihear Temple conflict by peaceful measures and dialogue.

These measures will suit the agreements already reached by the two countries and avoid armed clashes that would affect ASEAN unity, she said.

Thailand rejects France’s 1904 Maps [-Cambodia should reject Thai occupation of Khmer provinces such as Nokoreach Seima, Chantabor, Kuckhan, etc...]

Thursday, October 30, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

An official from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Thailand will not recognize Cambodia’s use of the 1904 map drawn by France as the base map for delimiting the borders between Thailand and Cambodia. On Thursday, The Bangkok Post quoted Virachai Plasai, director-general of the Department of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, as saying that Thailand will reject any attempt made by Cambodia to use the 904 French map as a basis for border delimitation. Virachai Plasai said that, according to this map, all the disputed Khmer temples are located inside Cambodia.

Thai-Cambodia border dispute talks postponed

Monday, October 20, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

Thai and Cambodian military officials have postponed talks on the two countries border dispute, planned for Tuesday to later in the week.

The spokesman for Thailand's northeastern army division says the two countries are not yet ready for the regional border meeting.

Colonel Taweesak Boonrakchart says the Thai delegates would need to get approval from parliament before the government can sign any pacts.

Two Cambodian soldiers were killed and seven Thai troops injured on Wednesday when a firefight erupted between soldiers stationed on disputed land near Cambodia's ancient Preah Vihear temple.

Since then, both sides have agreed to joint border patrols as a temporary measure.

Thai, Cambodian Troops Must Show Restraint on Border, Ban Says

By Daniel Ten Kate and Ed Johnson

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Thailand and Cambodia to resolve their border dispute peacefully after two soldiers were reportedly killed in clashes yesterday.

Both sides must ``exercise the utmost restraint'' and hold talks, Ban's office said in a statement late yesterday. The U.S. State Department echoed his call.

The violence yesterday came a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned Thailand to remove its troops from the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear temple, a UN World Heritage Site. Thailand said it would ``exercise its right of self-defense'' if fired upon.

Two Cambodian soldiers died in the fighting and two were wounded, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the country's foreign minister, Hor Namhong. Military officials from both countries will meet in Thailand today to discuss troop levels and weaponry, AFP said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called on the Southeast Asian neighbors to ``refrain from any use of violence or any provocation'' and to resolve their differences ``via political channels.''

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled in a 9-3 vote that Cambodia had sovereignty over Preah Vihear.

The conflict over land near the site started in June, when Thailand agreed to support Cambodia's bid to list the Hindu temple as a protected UN monument. A nationalist Thai group opposed the move, prompting the government to withdraw support for the UN listing.

Military Standoff

Tensions between the countries worsened in July after Thai troops entered the disputed area around Preah Vihear, prompting a military standoff that almost went before the UN Security Council. The countries agreed to withdraw troops on July 29, though subsequent meetings failed to produce a lasting resolution.

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat described yesterday's exchange of gunfire as a ``small clash'' and called for negotiations. He said earlier this week the conflict could be resolved through an existing committee set up by the neighbors to demarcate the border.

State-run Thai Airways International Pcl may help evacuate 1,000 Thais from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, if the situation worsens, said Tharit Charungvat, a spokesman for Thailand's Foreign Ministry. Another 500 Thais live in Siem Reap, near Angkor Wat temple, he said.

After the clashes ended yesterday, Cambodian and Thai officials released statements blaming each other for the fighting, AFP reported.

``Cambodia strongly protests against these repeated and very serious armed provocations by Thailand which would lead to large scale armed hostilities between the two countries,'' Hor Namhong said in a statement.

``We were not the first to fire the shots,'' Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit said.

Lieutenant General Wiboonsak Neeparn, the army commander for northeastern Thailand, said five Thai soldiers were injured, AFP reported.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.

Deadly fighting erupts at Thai-Cambodian border

Thursday, October 16, 2008
By SOPHENG CHEANG

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Escalating tensions between Thailand and Cambodia over a disputed border near a historic temple erupted Wednesday in a deadly gunbattle, prompting officials to quickly declare that they would resolve the dispute through talks, not bullets.

Two Cambodian troops were killed, the first deaths in a 4-month standoff that began when UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage Site. Thailand feared its claims over nearby land would be undermined.

In recent days, as the dispute fueled nationalism in both countries, officials appeared to be preparing for a major confrontation.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued an ultimatum to Thailand on Tuesday to pull back its soldiers from the disputed territory, calling it "a life-and-death battle zone." Thailand moved reinforcements up to the border area.

Thailand also put jet fighters on alert at bases nationwide and C-130 transport planes on standby that could evacuate Thais living in the border area, Thai air force official Group Capt. Montol Satchukorn said.

Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd said Wednesday that Cambodian soldiers approached a Thai base, refused to leave the area and fired in the air.

"We believe they were meant to be warning shots. The Thai troops fired back in self defense," he said.

The fighting Wednesday afternoon lasted for about an hour, with each side accusing the other of firing the first shot.

In a protest handed to the senior Cambodian diplomat in Bangkok, Thailand's Foreign Ministry said Thai soldiers were peacefully patrolling their own territory along the border when Cambodian soldiers shot at them with rocket propelled grenades and submachine guns.

Cambodia's Foreign Ministry accused Thai troops of launching "heavy armed attacks" at three different locations to push back Cambodians from positions inside Cambodian territory. The battle killed at least two Cambodian soldiers and wounded three.

Five Thai soldiers were wounded, Col. Sansern said.

Cambodia's foreign minister said 10 Thai soldiers had surrendered, were being well-treated, and would be returned to Thailand. Lt. Gen. Viboonsak Neepan, the Thai Army commander for the region, denied any of his soldiers had been captured.

After the gunbattle, officials in Thailand and Cambodia tried to lower tensions.

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said Thailand had no interest in seeing the conflict escalate, and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said military officials from both sides would meet Thursday in Thailand to discuss the clash.

"Cambodia is a good neighbor. We will use peaceful means. If there is violence, we have to negotiate," Somchai said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. "would urge restraint on both sides to refrain from any use of violence." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also urged restraint and called on the two sides to quickly resolve the dispute.

Thailand's more than 300,000-strong military uses modern American equipment and dwarfs Cambodia's 125,000 less well-equipped troops. Cambodian forces however are well versed in guerrilla warfare after fighting an intense civil war against the communist Khmer Rouge.

Wednesday's fighting was the latest flare-up in a longtime dispute over a stretch of jungle near the 11th century temple. The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but sovereignty over surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.

The dispute in recent months has become fodder in domestic politics in both countries.

A wave of nationalism fueled by the dispute bolstered Hun Sen's landslide re-election, and anti-government protesters in Thailand have used it to try to discredit the ruling Thai government and push it to aggressively pursue claims on the land.

"The issue surrounding Preah Vihear temple was over decades ago until it was fanned by nationalist rhetoric for domestic political purposes. The two situations are closely linked," said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a Thai historian who has written extensively on the dispute.

Both sides sent hundreds of troops to the area after UNESCO's July action, but most soldiers were withdrawn a month later. The conflict flared again in recent weeks, including a brief gunfight this month that wounded one Cambodian and two Thai soldiers.

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok, Thailand, Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh, Foster Klug in Washington and Carley Petesch at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Thai army chief welcomes Cambodia talks on temple feud

Thai soldiers sit in a trench along the Thai and Cambodian border near Preah Vihear temple, in the disputed area between the two countries. Thailand's army chief welcomed Tuesday talks with Cambodia to resolve a two-week tense military standoff, but refused to commit to withdrawing troops from their border. (AFP/File)

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's army chief welcomed Tuesday talks with Cambodia to resolve a two-week tense military standoff, but refused to commit to withdrawing troops from their border.

Cambodia and Thailand agreed during talks on Monday to consider pulling troops out of disputed land near an ancient temple, but did not commit to any firm steps to end the standoff.

"The resolution from the meeting between Cambodia and Thailand will help relieve tension and improve the situation," General Anupong Paojinda said.

"Lowering the troops at the border, however, needs to receive an order from the government first," he told AFP by phone.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP that "we hope that the situation will be eased" following the 12-hours of talks in the Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap.

Foreign ministers from both countries emerged from the talks late Monday promising to ask their governments to redeploy the thousands of soldiers stationed around a small pagoda near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

The ruins of the Khmer temple, which sits on a mountaintop overlooking the jungle, belong to Cambodia, but the most practical entrance begins at the foot of a mountain in Thailand.

Both sides claim some of the surrounding territory and say a full resolution of the decades-long dispute is likely to involve protracted negotiations.

The latest conflict has enflamed nationalist sentiment in both countries. In Cambodia, holding a strong stance on the temple helped Prime Minister Hun Sen win general elections on Sunday.

In Thailand, embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is threatened by nationalist protesters who have made the temple a core issue in calling for his resignation.

This Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn U. is a complete IDIOT when it comes to knowledge of Preah Vihear history

The politics of Preah Vihear and Phra Viharn Preah Vihear

Friday July 25, 2008
THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK
Bangkok Post

While the military build-up between opposing Thai and Cambodian armed forces over the Preah Vihear temple controversy has reached a standstill following inclusive talks between the two sides, Phnom Penh's diplomatic offensive is well under way. After its unsuccessful bid to put the issue for regional discussion among Asean members, Cambodia is now seeking a multilateral solution to this longstanding bilateral territorial dispute, threatening to put the United Nations Security Council on the spot.

It has become a foreboding tussle between Cambodia's legal merits and Thailand's historical claims that has far-reaching repercussions. Although the narrative of what Cambodians have referred to as Preah Vihear and Thais as Phra Viharn is complicated and technical, the main points of contention are not difficult to discern.

Phnom Penh insists that the 4.6 square kilometres adjoining the temple complex has been under Cambodia's territorial sovereignty since the International Court of Justice's landmark adjudication in 1962. In its 9-to-3 verdict, the ICJ ruled that Cambodia's submitted map, drawn up by French surveyors during 1904-07, put the temple area in Cambodia proper because Thailand (then known as Siam until 1939) did not object. Without Siam's visible and vigorous objections during the interim, the ICJ ruled that Cambodia's map carried the day.

Sensing an opportunity during the hearings in 1962, Cambodia further requested the ICJ's adjudication over the adjacent land area but the judges placed their jurisdiction only over the temple as per Cambodia's original case submission.

This French-made map thus became the core of contention because it defied and manipulated natural geographic divisions. Siam then did not, as Thailand now does not, accept the French-made and Cambodian-peddled map over ''Phra Viharn'' because it contravenes the Franco-Siamese agreement of 1904, which stipulated that the map was to be demarcated along a watershed line separating the two countries.

French mapping also took place just a decade after Siam ceded a clutch of territories to France. It was a period when France lorded it over Indochina as a colonial master and when Thailand was compelled to trade off a host of unequal treaties with European powers for its independence.

Unsurprisingly, none of the judges in 1962 said that the French map was fair and just. Their point was that the absence of Siam's explicit rejection of the map was tantamount to an implicit acceptance. A dissenting judge from Australia, Sir Percy Spender, in fact stipulated in his opinion that the temple area was in Thai territory due to the watershed line.

Over the past century of Preah Vihear controversy, Thailand has never recognised this map but it did accept the ICJ ruling on the temple complex itself. Cambodia's ongoing manoeuvres to claim the adjacent 4.6 square kilometres of territory to be under its sovereignty, are ironically intended to benefit from the fruits of French imperialism, from which the country itself suffered for decades.

Yet the Cambodians are unlikely to cease their claims. Phnom Penh knows it has the upper hand both on the legal merits and on the domestic divisions in Thailand.

Bangkok is still without a foreign minister after the incumbent Noppadon Pattama resigned in disgrace following the Thai Constitution Court's ruling against the joint communique between Bangkok and Phnom Penh agreeing to let Cambodia unilaterally register Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site.

Thailand is also deeply polarised, stuck in a protracted political crisis. Another Cambodian submission to the ICJ to rule on the sovereignty over the 4.6 square kilometres, based on the 1962 precedent, would be a blow to Bangkok.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his embattled government have suggested that the controversy will dissipate after Cambodia's general election this Sunday.

This is a misplaced assumption.

Cambodia 's bid for the temple's designation as a World Heritage Site goes back to 1992 and actively took hold well before the Thai political crisis and Cambodia's elections. Phnom Penh's claim is thus likely to continue after Sunday.

If Cambodia fails at the UNSC due to Thailand's staunch and longstanding friendships with the majority of the Permanent Five, it will still press the case on a bilateral basis.

What Mr Samak must do now is to de-politicise the Preah Vihear controversy by appointing an autonomous team of diplomats and relevant officials and experts who are insulated from the cut-and-thrust of the Thai political crisis, to mount Thailand's case.

If the new foreign minister must come from the patronage party quota system, then a deputy or equivalent should appointed who should be a respected outsider.

He then should be given a green light and full support to direct Thailand's legal and diplomatic efforts.

Equally important, the People's Alliance for Democracy and other anti-government groups bent on overthrowing Mr Samak's government, must lay off the Preah Vihear issue. If they continue to exploit this matter to bring down the government, it would play into Cambodia's advantage.

Preah Vihear should be off-limits to both the PAD and Prime Minister Samak's lieutenants and other proxies of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Indeed, the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but the adjacent land should be jointly developed, supervised and managed. While legality gives Cambodia an edge, geography is firmly on Thailand's side.

The status quo of joint use by both Thais and Cambodians has worked well until recent weeks. It should be restored.

The writer is Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.