Opinion by Khmerization
26th August, 2008
Thailand’s diplomatic games of hide-and-seek over the issues of Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples is nothing short of dishonesty and should be a concern to all Khmer patriots. Equally, the soft, and sometimes lethargic, response of the Cambodian government to Thailand’s aggression and invasion is worrisome. And Cambodia’s agreements to allow 10 Thai soldiers to remain in the occupied territories is a diplomatic disaster and is tantamount to a de jure recognition of Thailand’s rightful claims to the “occupied territories“. It is also tantamount to surrendering the Khmer sovereignty and territorial integrity to Thailand.
I have said all along that Thailand wants to use bilateral talks, as opposed to the internationalisation of the issue, as a mean to buy more time and to prolong the occupation of the so-called “disputed territories”. With three fruitless negotiations so far, the military status quo remains unchanged and the occupation still continues unabated.
Cambodia must not be so naïve and must realise that Thailand was the aggressor and the invader. Any negotiations must include a demand for a total Thai withdrawal from the occupied territories. To agree to a partial withdrawal is tantamount to no withdrawal at all because the reality is that the areas are still occupied by Thai forces, whether with 1,000 troops or 10 soldiers is no different, as the areas remained under occupation. The current agreement for troop reduction, as opposed to total troop withdrawal, is a diplomatic victory for Thailand. In short, Thailand had achieved what they set out to achieve and that is to remain in the occupied territories and stake a territorial claim over the areas.
With Thailand engaging in active diplomatic manoeuvres in recent weeks, Cambodia should have woken up to the facts of Thailand’s real intentions already and that is to remain in the “occupied territories“ permanently and stake a legal claim over the areas. In the past few weeks, Thailand had invited journalists and foreign diplomatic corps to visit the “occupied territories” . The Thai PM, Mr. Samak, had planned to visit the areas. But most worrisome is Thailand’s actions of involving U.S President George W. Bush on the Preah Vihear disputes with Cambodia when it briefed him on the issues during Bush’s recent visit to Thailand. Thailand’s diplomatic drives, including involving the U.S president in the disputes, is nothing short of dishonesty. Thailand was vehemently opposed to Cambodia taking the issue to the international stage by saying that it is a bilateral issue that should be resolved through bilateral talks. And yet Thailand had actively and dishonestly engaged in a diplomatic coup to get an advantage edge over Cambodia.
Cambodia should wake up to the facts by now. With its active diplomatic manoeuvres in recent weeks, Thailand is sending a clear message to Cambodia that it is preparing for a long battle of diplomatic and legal war, or possibly a real battleground warfare with Cambodia over Preah Vihear. With the world focussing their attention on the Beijing Olympic Games and the war between Georgia and Russia raging in South Ossetia, the Cambodia-Thai military confrontations in Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples is only a footnote to the world event and would not warrant their attention. That’s why I have said all along that Cambodia must bring the Preah Vihear issue to the world stage when it is still hot.
The talks in Hua Hin, in Thailand’s southern resort town, on the 18th of August will not yield any fruitful results for Cambodia. On the contrary, it will be another diplomatic victory for Thailand again, if Cambodia did not succeed in its demand for a total withdrawal by Thai troops from the Preah Vihear areas.
Cambodia should go to the negotiating table with clear set of goals. Cambodia must not be ambivalent on the Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples. It must be unequivocally and consistently insisting on a total Thai withdrawal. Anything else, including border demarcations, should be off the agenda and should be discussed only after the Thai withdrawal had been verified as complete. If Cambodia did not have a clear set of agenda, then it surely will fall into Thailand’s trap of diplomatic games of hide-and-seek like in the previous three negotiations. If so, Cambodia had been hypnotised, duped and naively and unknowingly been deceived times and times again. I am very pessimistic about the Preah Vihear solutions because anything less than a total Thai withdrawal is unacceptable. And I do not hope to see a total Thai withdrawal in the foreseeable future.
26th August, 2008
“Thailand’s diplomatic drives, including involving the U.S president in the disputes, is nothing short of dishonesty. Thailand was vehemently opposed to Cambodia taking the issue to the international stage by saying that it is a bilateral issue that should be resolved through bilateral talks. And yet Thailand had actively and dishonestly engaged in a diplomatic coup to get an advantage edge over Cambodia.”
Thailand’s diplomatic games of hide-and-seek over the issues of Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples is nothing short of dishonesty and should be a concern to all Khmer patriots. Equally, the soft, and sometimes lethargic, response of the Cambodian government to Thailand’s aggression and invasion is worrisome. And Cambodia’s agreements to allow 10 Thai soldiers to remain in the occupied territories is a diplomatic disaster and is tantamount to a de jure recognition of Thailand’s rightful claims to the “occupied territories“. It is also tantamount to surrendering the Khmer sovereignty and territorial integrity to Thailand.
I have said all along that Thailand wants to use bilateral talks, as opposed to the internationalisation of the issue, as a mean to buy more time and to prolong the occupation of the so-called “disputed territories”. With three fruitless negotiations so far, the military status quo remains unchanged and the occupation still continues unabated.
Cambodia must not be so naïve and must realise that Thailand was the aggressor and the invader. Any negotiations must include a demand for a total Thai withdrawal from the occupied territories. To agree to a partial withdrawal is tantamount to no withdrawal at all because the reality is that the areas are still occupied by Thai forces, whether with 1,000 troops or 10 soldiers is no different, as the areas remained under occupation. The current agreement for troop reduction, as opposed to total troop withdrawal, is a diplomatic victory for Thailand. In short, Thailand had achieved what they set out to achieve and that is to remain in the occupied territories and stake a territorial claim over the areas.
With Thailand engaging in active diplomatic manoeuvres in recent weeks, Cambodia should have woken up to the facts of Thailand’s real intentions already and that is to remain in the “occupied territories“ permanently and stake a legal claim over the areas. In the past few weeks, Thailand had invited journalists and foreign diplomatic corps to visit the “occupied territories” . The Thai PM, Mr. Samak, had planned to visit the areas. But most worrisome is Thailand’s actions of involving U.S President George W. Bush on the Preah Vihear disputes with Cambodia when it briefed him on the issues during Bush’s recent visit to Thailand. Thailand’s diplomatic drives, including involving the U.S president in the disputes, is nothing short of dishonesty. Thailand was vehemently opposed to Cambodia taking the issue to the international stage by saying that it is a bilateral issue that should be resolved through bilateral talks. And yet Thailand had actively and dishonestly engaged in a diplomatic coup to get an advantage edge over Cambodia.
Cambodia should wake up to the facts by now. With its active diplomatic manoeuvres in recent weeks, Thailand is sending a clear message to Cambodia that it is preparing for a long battle of diplomatic and legal war, or possibly a real battleground warfare with Cambodia over Preah Vihear. With the world focussing their attention on the Beijing Olympic Games and the war between Georgia and Russia raging in South Ossetia, the Cambodia-Thai military confrontations in Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples is only a footnote to the world event and would not warrant their attention. That’s why I have said all along that Cambodia must bring the Preah Vihear issue to the world stage when it is still hot.
The talks in Hua Hin, in Thailand’s southern resort town, on the 18th of August will not yield any fruitful results for Cambodia. On the contrary, it will be another diplomatic victory for Thailand again, if Cambodia did not succeed in its demand for a total withdrawal by Thai troops from the Preah Vihear areas.
Cambodia should go to the negotiating table with clear set of goals. Cambodia must not be ambivalent on the Preah Vihear and Ta Moan temples. It must be unequivocally and consistently insisting on a total Thai withdrawal. Anything else, including border demarcations, should be off the agenda and should be discussed only after the Thai withdrawal had been verified as complete. If Cambodia did not have a clear set of agenda, then it surely will fall into Thailand’s trap of diplomatic games of hide-and-seek like in the previous three negotiations. If so, Cambodia had been hypnotised, duped and naively and unknowingly been deceived times and times again. I am very pessimistic about the Preah Vihear solutions because anything less than a total Thai withdrawal is unacceptable. And I do not hope to see a total Thai withdrawal in the foreseeable future.
