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Cambodian–Thai border dispute

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Cambodian–Thai border dispute
The Preah Vihear temple.
Date2008
Location
Thai-Cambodian border
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Thailand Kingdom of Thailand  Cambodia
Thai soldiers dismantling the Thai flagpole from Preah Vihear Temple at noon on July 15, 1962 before the withdrawal.

The 2008 Cambodian-Thai stand-off began between Kingdom of Thailand and Cambodia as the latest round of a century-long dispute involving the Preah Vihear Temple (alternative name as Prasat Phra Viharn).

Background

The Preah Vihear temple has been the subject of often rancorous debate within both Cambodia and Thailand and between the two neighbours.

Preah Vihear Temple was built during the 9th and 10th centuries by the Angkorian Empire. As the empire reached its zenith and began a slow decline, the Ayutthaya Kingdom began its climb to its modern-day state of Thailand. The Thais conquered much Khmer territory. This culminated in the 1867 Franco-Thai treaty renouncing Thai suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces, which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1906.

During World War II, Thailand took advantage of the 1940 French surrender in France to invade French Indochina in early January 1941, beginning the French-Thai War. The Thais, better equipped and outnumbering the French forces, easily took Laos. The French decisively won the naval Battle of Koh Chang.

The Japanese mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was declared on January 28. On May 9 a peace treaty was signed in Tokyo, with the French being coerced by the Japanese into relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.

On December 8, 1941, a few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan demanded the right to move troops across Thailand to the Malayan frontier. Japan invaded the country and engaged the Thai army for six to eight hours before Plaek Phibunsongkhram ordered an armistice. Shortly thereafter Japan was granted free passage, and on December 21, 1941, Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance with a secret protocol wherein Tokyo agreed to help Thailand get back territories lost to the British and French colonial powers and Thailand undertook to assist Japan in her war against the Allies.

After the end of World War II, Prime Minister Pridi Phanomyong agreed to return the captured territories to France, as a condition for admission to the newly created United Nations. Thailand did not include Preah Vihear Temple in the returned territories.

In 1962 the International Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands, awarded ownership of Preah Vihear Temple to Cambodia, stating that the 1907 map clearly showed Preah Vihear and the surrounding lands as being in Cambodia. Thailand reluctantly handed over the temple, but has never withdrawn from the surrounding land.

The ownership dispute reappeared in recent years after Cambodia submitted an application to UNESCO requesting that Preah Vihear be designated as a World Heritage site. Thailand contended that the application requested such designation for surrounding land that Thailand considered to belong to it. The Cambodians withdrew the application, and in 2008, after winning support from Thailand, resubmitted a modified request requesting the designation just for the temple, not surrounding land.

The Preah Vihear temple issue, both its location and its listing, have become the subject of nationalist political posturing in both Cambodia and Thailand. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the major Thai opposition, has turned the temple into a cause célèbre wedge issue in its battles against the People Power Party government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej in its attempts to unseat the government. In 2006 the PAD led street protests that led first to the Thai general election of April, 2006, won by then-incumbent former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai Party and then to the military coup of June 2006, which ousted Thaksin Shinawatra. The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) government of Prime Minister Hun Sen has used the possibly coincidental timing of the UNESCO annual meeting and the listing of the Temple as a World Heritage site in its campaigning for the July 27, 2008, parliamentary election.[1]

Timeline

  • In January 2008, the Thai Defense Ministry protested Cambodia's attempt to register the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without agreement from Thailand.[2]
  • In March 2008, Cambodia informed Thailand of their plan to register Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site.
  • In April 2008, Thailand and Cambodia planned a talk on the issue before the registration. Thailand insisted that it would support the registration of the temple but that the process 'must not affect the disputed borderline'.[3]
  • On June 18, 2008, Thailand and Cambodia made a joint communique regarding the temple registration.[4]
  • On June 22, 2008, Cambodia closed the border crossing to Preah Vihear in response to Thai protests held at the border crossing. The protests were championed by anti-Thaksin opposition figure, self-declared bankrupt Sonthi Limthongkul, who claimed the government of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sudaravej had gained business concessions in Cambodia in payment for ceding Thai territory to Cambodia when negotiating the Preah Vihear site map that would be presented to UNESCO in Quebec, Canada. [5][1]
  • On June 30, 2008 the Nation newspaper in Bangkok published an editorial online highly critical of the People's Alliance for Democracy for its use of Preah Vihear temple in its campaign against the People Power Party government of Prime Minister Samak Sudaravej.[6]

Following the Thai government's decision to support Cambodia's bid for World Heritage listing, anti-Thaksin Shinawatra Thai opposition figures mounted a legal challenge against Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama. The Thai Constitutional Court finally upheld the suit on 7 July 2008 in an 8-1 judgment against the foreign minister's joint communique with Cambodia, as 'unconstitutional'.[8] [9]

  • On July 8, 2008, thousands of Phnom Penh residents marched through the streets in celebration of the inscription of Preah Vihear temple by UNESCO. On the same day, the Municipality of Phnom Penh held an evening outdoor concert at Wat Phnom to celebrate the inscription of Preah Vihear temple by UNESCO earlier in the day. The concert was nationally broadcast on CTN, emceed by Cambodia's biggest television star and featured traditional Khmer performances as well as a fireworks display. Despite persistent rain, thousands of Cambodians attended.[1]
  • The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), an anti-Thaksin Shinawatra coalition of Thai business, intellectual and political leaders, has used the Preah Vihear issue in its attempts to unseat the People Power Party (PPP) government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Samak Sudaravej is commonly seen as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a military coup in 2006. The most vocal leader of the PAD is newspaper publisher Sonthi Limthongkul.[10][1]
  • On July 10, 2008, Thai Foreign Minister Nappadon Pattama resigned over the listing of Preah Vihear by UNESCO. His resignation followed the 8-1 judgment by the Thai Constitutional Court that he had violated Article 190 of Thailand's 2007 Constitution, which calls for a public debate and Cabinet-level approval before any such authorization can take place.[11][1]
  • On July 15, 2008, cross-border tensions flared after Cambodian authorities arrested three Thai nationals who had crossed the closed border in an effort to plant the Thai flag on the temple grounds. Several dozen Thai soldiers were reported to have subsequently crossed the border. One Thai soldier lost his leg to a landmine detonation.[13][14] [15]

Thailand maintains its troops are deployed to protect its sovereignty and ensure that any protests by Thais near the temple remain orderly, although a senior Thai military official acknowledged that the troops were on "disputed" ground.

  • On July 16, 2008, Thailand increased the number of troops stationed in the illegally-occupied border region[16] adjacent to Preah Vihear temple.
  • On July 17, 2008, the total number of troops at the temple increased to over 1,000, with some of the 400 Thai troops in the area occupying a Buddhist pagoda within Cambodian territory. Thai forces have denied they are inside Cambodian territory.[17][18][14]

In a letter to the Thai Prime Minister, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for the immediate withdrawal of Thai troops and protesters from the area.[19]

  • On July 18, 2008, the Thai government handed Cambodia a letter from Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej insisting Thai troops are deployed on Thai soil. In a letter to Hun Sen, the Thai PM said Cambodian troops and buildings on the disputed 4.6 km² (1.8 sq mi) area were a "violation of Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity", but that his government was "resolved to seek a just and peaceful solution to the situation".

[20][21]

  • On July 19, 2008, the Thai and Cambodian governments sent more troops and heavy guns to the disputed border[22] ahead of high-level talks scheduled for 21 July 2008 between Cambodia defense minister and Thailand supreme commander.[23]
  • On July 21, 2008, Cambodian Dfence Minister Tea Ban and Thai Army commander Boonsrang Niempradit held talks in Thailand. The talks acheived no outcome.[24]
  • On July 22, 2008, Thailand rejected the assistance of ASEAN in resolving the border dispute. Thailand's statment came as ASEAN foreign ministers began a meeting in Singapore. The BBC reported that Cambodia had requested UN assistance in resolving the border dispute. The previous week the Cambodian government denied it had made such a call after similar news stories were published.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Jonathan Head (Page last updated at 14:16 GMT, Tuesday, 15 July 2008 15:16 UK). "BBC NEWS". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Asia-Pacific" ignored (help); Text "Political tensions driving temple row" ignored (help)
  2. ^ http://news.sanook.com/social/social_239605.php
  3. ^ "Thailand, Cambodia and UNESCO meet over Preah Vihear". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog" ignored (help)
  4. ^ The Nation (Tue, July 8, 2008 : Last updated 18:24 hours). "Bangkok's Independent Newspaper". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Cambodia Closes Border With Thailand At Preah Vihear Temple". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "AHN" ignored (help); Text "July 20, 2008" ignored (help)
  6. ^ Thongchai Winichakul special to The Nation Published on June 30 (Mon, June 30, 2008 : Last updated 9:41 hours). "Bangkok's Independent Newspaper". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Bangkok Post Breaking News". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  8. ^ "Thai rulings fuel election talk, PM not worried". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "Reuters" ignored (help)
  9. ^ "MCOT English News : Thai Court rules Thai-Cambodian communique in breach of charter". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  10. ^ "Bangkok Post". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "General news" ignored (help); Text "WHC plan for Preah Vihear 'most unusual'" ignored (help)
  11. ^ "BBC NEWS". Page last updated at 09:54 GMT, Thursday, 10 July 2008 10:54 UK. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Asia-Pacific" ignored (help); Text "Thailand foreign minister quits" ignored (help)
  12. ^ "Cambodia holds big concert to hail Preah Vihear temple as world heritage_English_Xinhua". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  13. ^ "BBC NEWS". Page last updated at 15:28 GMT, Tuesday, 15 July 2008 16:28 UK. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Asia-Pacific" ignored (help); Text "Thai troops 'cross into Cambodia'" ignored (help)
  14. ^ a b 2 days ago (2 days ago). "AFP: Cambodian, Thai soldiers reportedly draw weapons". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ http://www.bangkokpost.com/200708_News/20Jul2008_news002.php
  16. ^ Bora Touch (29 June 2008). "Preah Vihear Temple and the Thai's Misunderstanding of the World Court Judgment of 15 June 1962". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  17. ^ "BBC NEWS". Page last updated at 11:14 GMT, Thursday, 17 July 2008 12:14 UK. Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "Asia-Pacific" ignored (help); Text "Troop build-up at hill-top temple" ignored (help)
  18. ^ SOPHENG CHEANG – 3 days ago (3 days ago). "The Associated Press: Cambodia, Thailand deploy more troops". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Cambodia PM says Thai border row getting worse". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "Reuters" ignored (help)
  20. ^ "Bangkok Post: Top Stories". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  21. ^ "More troops, rhetoric in Thai-Cambodia temple row". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "International" ignored (help); Text "Reuters" ignored (help)
  22. ^ "More troops sent in Thai-Cambodia temple dispute - The Irish Times - Sat, Jul 19, 2008". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  23. ^ "More troops, rhetoric in Thai-Cambodia temple row". Retrieved 2008-07-20. {{cite web}}: Text "International" ignored (help); Text "Reuters" ignored (help)
  24. ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/21/content_8742004.htm
  25. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7518741.stm
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