UN calls for 'permanent ceasefire' between Thailand and Cambodia

Thai FM Kasit Piromya (left) and Cambodian FM Hor Namhong in New York

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has called for a 'permanent ceasefire' between Thailand and Cambodia after a border dispute erupted into deadly clashes last week around a disputed Hindu temple.

 

The council insisted it would not intervene in the border dispute, and encouraged mediation efforts by Indonesia, the current president of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Clashes broke out on 4th February around the base of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, and lasted for 3 days. The temple and the area around it has been the cause of great tension between the two neighbours. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 1962 that it lay in Cambodian territory, but it did not rule on the 4.6sq km at the base of the temple, where the main access lies, which has been in dispute ever since.

Cambodia sought – and was awarded – world heritage status for the temple in 2008, despite the wishes of Thailand which wanted the temple to have joint Cambodian-Thai status. Border clashes broke out soon after, and tension in the border region has been present since.

Displaced people leave the border region

The most recent spate of violence was, however, the most extreme. At least 10 people died and some 30,000 people were displaced from villages in the border region. Additionally, the temple itself was damaged in one of the Thai artillery offensives. Both sides claimed the other side started attacking first.

Cambodia last week submitted petitions to the UNSC calling for international intervention in handling the issue. Thai, Cambodia and Indonesian representatives met with the UNSC in New York on Monday 14th February.

Council president Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil made the call for a ceasefire after a closed door session with foreign ministers of Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia.

"Members of the Security Council urge the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire and to implement it fully," she said.

Ms Viotti said council members expressed "great concern" over the clashes and "called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that may aggravate the situation."

Cambodia has been trying to raise the border fighting issue to the UN platform since 2008, but without success. Thailand has rejected third party intervention and mediation, and despite the current violence, it appears the position has not changed.

Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya, speaking early on 16th February to the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) said Thailand supports a 'permanent ceasefire' agreement and that the country could implement it soon after defense ministers of both countries hold talks.

"Thailand has proposed to hold Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting on Feb 27 and Cambodia should express her sincerity to solve border issue by joining the talks," Thai FM said. At the UNSC meeting, he insisted the two countries could resolve the dispute themselves.

He also said that Cambodia's development plans for the area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple should be halted until negotiations on border demarcation could reach agreement.

"The listing of Preah Vihear temple was seen as the source of fresh tension and had frequently led to cross-border clashes," Kasit said.

On Sunday 13th February, Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva laid the blame for the crisis on UNESCO's decision to declare the temple ruins a world heritage site even though the land around it is disputed.

Cambodia has taken a tougher line, with foreign ministry spokeman Koy Kuong saying UNESCO was not to blame.

"The war was not caused by the listing of the temple, but by Thailand's invasion of Cambodian territory," said the Cambodian spokesman.

"They want not only the territory, but also the temple."

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen even went as far as calling the clashes a 'real war', the first time the term has been used to refer to clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

ASEAN president and Indonesia foreign minister Marty Natalegawa is using the issue to try to raise the standing of ASEAN. His call for a "brief, urgent and informal" meeting with his ASEAN counterparts on 22nd February in Jakarta is an anticipation of a mandate from the Security Council for ASEAN, under his leadership, to take up "regional" responsibility.

A more systematic approach to conflict resolution and dispute settlements as outlined in the ASEAN Charter as well as those contained in the ASEAN Political and Security Community blueprint are likely to be discussed and put into practice.

In recent international security issues, the UNSC has often made use of Article 52 of the UN Charter to share burden and delegate responsibility to existing regional arrangements. ASEAN members have traditionally avoided taking collective responsibility, but it appears that is now changing.

Sources: Bangkok Post, Xinhua, China Post, BBC News

For more information on this dispute, see the Menas Borders website, here.

Soldiers exchange fire along Thai-Cambodian border

Cambodian soldiers at the Preah Vihear temple

Gunfire has been exchanged by Cambodian and Thai soldiers on the afternoon of Friday 4th February.

The clash started just after 1500 local time near the disputed 4.6 square km around the base of the Preah Vihear temple. At least two Thai soldiers have been wounded according to the Bangkok Post, and it is not clear if there were any injuries on the Cambodian side.

Unsurprisingly, both sides blame the other for starting the clash. Thai Lt-Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, the second Army commander, said it was Cambodian troops who started the shooting. A Cambodian government spokesman, however, told the BBC that Thai soldiers had encroached upon Cambodian territory, and said a similar incident had only been narrowly avoided the day before.

The BBC reported that witnesses in the area said that Thai troops had attacked a Cambodian Buddhist pagoda in the border area.

Artillery shells have landed in Huay Thip village, north of the Preah Vihear temple and about 1km from Phu Makhua mountain, which is part of the disputed area.

Thailand's TNN TV news channel carried a live report from a villager in the area, who said a 50 year old man had been killed and others hurt by artillery shells which landed in his village, which is well inside Thai territory.

Tension has been on the rise between Thailand and Cambodia in recent weeks after a group of 7 Thai citizens were arrested and charged with illegally entering Thai territory. Two of the arrested are nationalist activists, and they have been convicted of espionage.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was in Cambodia on Friday holding talks with his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong to try to defuse tensions. They agreed to work to calm tensions over a dispute over the use of national flags in the disputed border region near Preah Vihear temple. They also pledged their commitment to efforts to the demarcation negotiations taking place through the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

Mr Kasit said he would visit Veera Somkwankid and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, the two jailed activists to discuss what help could be provided by the government.

The 11th century Preah Vihear temple was awarded to Cambodia in a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling. The 4.6sq km area around the base of the temple was not, however, ruled on, and has remained in dispute since. The temple became a world heritage site in 2008 under sole Cambodian ownership, an event which immediately sparked border clashes. The border situation has remained tense between the two neighbours ever since.

Sources: BBC News, Bangkok Post

For more information on the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute, see the Menas Associates website, here.