Cambodia agrees to uphold peace on disputed border

Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Monday that Cambodia has agreed to maintain peace along its disputed border with Thailand, irrespective of the ICJ's upcoming decision concerning the territory surrounding Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple. Since it was approved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7 July 2008, the Temple has been the scene of intermittent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, the latter claiming ownership of the 4.6 km² of territory adjacent to the site.

"Whatever decision the ICJ makes, the Cambodian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Thai government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will abide by the court's decision, and we will maintain friendship, cooperation and serenity along the border," said Namhong to the Director General of UNESCO,Irina Bokova, who welcomed the announcement, agreeing that a peaceful solution was in tune with UNESCO's vision of protecting heritage sites all over the world. The Court is expected to rule on the disputed land, which has tested relations between the two south-east Asian nations for decades, by the end of this year.

Cambodia filed an application to the ICJ on 28 April 2011 requesting an interpretation of the Court's judgement on 15 June 1962 (which ruled in favour of Cambodia) concerning the century-long border dispute in and around the area of the Preah Vihear Temple in the Dangrek Mountains. In the 2011 application, Cambodia stressed the need for Thailand to withdraw its troops from the area, cease all military activity in the vicinity and refrain from any act that could aggravate the dispute, lest irreparable damage be done to relations between the two parties. Thailand refuted the claims that there was still a dispute and that these special provisions regarding its military be implemented. The Court ruled against Bangkok and has since heard opening statements from both parties.

ICJ issues provisional ruling on Cambodia-Thailand temple case

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued a ruling on provisional measures in the Cambodia-Thailand Preah Vihear temple case, on Monday 18th July.

The Court, the UN's highest body, ordered both sides to immediately withdraw their military personnel from a newly defined provisional demilitarised zone.

It also ruled that Thailand should not obstruct Cambodia's free access to the Preah Vihear temple, prevent it from providing supplies to non-military personnel, and should restart talks though ASEAN.

The Court unanimously rejected Thailand's request for the case, which was introduced by Cambodia, to be thrown out.

Both sides appear to have accepted the ruling. Thailand's acting foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, said the Thai government would comply with the order, and that he was pleased that the order applied to both countries, rather than just Thailand as Cambodia had hoped for.

Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong also viewed the ruling as a victory. “It will be tantamount to the cessation of aggression of Thailand against Cambodia,” he was quoted in the New York Times as saying.

At the heart of the dispute is the eleventh century Preah Vihear temple. In 1962, the ICJ ruled that the temple lay within Cambodian territory, based on a 1907 French-Thai map. But the territory around the temple was not demarcated, and has caused problems ever since.

Cambodia won unilateral UNESCO World Heritage Status for the temple in 2008, which sparked a brief border conflict. There have been further clashes since, and over 30 people have died in a series of border clashes in 2011 alone.

Monday's decision is the first in what promises to be a lengthy and complicated judicial process, according to the BBC.

Sources: BBC News, ICJ, MCOT, New York Times

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

New fighting on Cambodian-Thai border brings death toll to 18

A Cambodian soldier sits near that Cambodia-Thailand border in late April

A Thai soldier was killed in renewed fighting with Cambodian troops on late Monday, 2nd May or early Tuesday, 3rd May, bringing the death toll from the border dispute of the two south Asian neighbours to 18.

The fighting began on 22nd April in the border region around two disputed temples, named Ta Kwai and Ta Muen in Thai and Ta Krabey and Ta Moan in Khmer. On 26th April, the fighting spread to spread to the highly controversial Preah Vihear temple, which lies about 150km to the east.

Much of the border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been demarcated, due to disputes and the prevalence of land mines, which makes demarcation difficult. Thailand says the 12th century Ta Kwai and Ta Muen temples are situated in its Surin province, according to a 1947 map. Cambodia argues that they are in its Oddar Meanchey province. Until hostilities broke out 12 days ago, the area was jointly patrolled, largely without incident.

Tension has been high between the countries since 2008, but it has been related to Preah Vihear temple. UNESCO awarded the temple World Heritage Status in 2008, under Cambodian jurisdiction. Thailand accepts that the temple itself is in Cambodian territory, as an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling dictated in 1962, but it claims much of the territory around the temple. As such, it wanted the temple to be jointly listed. In particular, there is a 4.6 square kilometer area that is disputed.

Clashes broke out in February between the two sides, which led to 10 deaths and to Preah Vihear being slightly damaged. Exactly what led to the violence at the two temples in April is not clear, although predictably both sides have blamed each other.

Many analysts see political manoeuvring as being behind the violence, and both governments in the past have resorted to stoking nationalist fervour to deflect attention away from domestic political problems.

Thailand, for example, is expected to hold an election in July, and the government is worried about looking weak in its relations with Cambodia. Some analysts have suggested that the clashes may be a pretext for Thai generals, allied with ultra-nationals, to stage a coup to prevent the elections from taking place.

International condemnation of the violence was quick to come. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a ceasefire and said the neighbours should undertake 'serious dialogue' to resolve the dispute. Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who is currently head of ASEAN and has been heavily involved in the Thailand-Cambodia dispute since the February clashes, also called for a ceasfire. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton urged both sides to exercise restraint and to take immediate steps to defuse the tension.

Despite both sides agreeing to a cease-fire on Thursday, 28th April, clashes have yet to stop, although they have decreased from their early intensity. Both sides said the other first broke the ceasefire, and they have both considerably increased their military presence in the border region.

Cambodia has consistently appealed for international mediation for the border disputes, but Thailand maintains they can be solved through bilateral dialogue. On Friday, 29th April, Cambodia announced that it had asked the ICJ to clarify its 1962 ruling. It also requested provisional measures, including the removal of Thai forces from the temple area.

Indonesia has tried to facilitate talks and to send military observers to the border. Thailand has, however, delayed the Indonesian observers, and it seems likely that this is what prompted Cambodia's ICJ appeal.

Some 100,000 people were forced to flee the border areas due to the clash, however many have started to return. Eight Thai troops, one Thai civilian and nine Cambodian soldiers have been killed, and some homes have been damaged on both sides.

Thailand recently admitted to using internationally–banned cluster munitions in the fighting in February. Cambodia's Defence Ministry said that in the most recent clashes, Thailand has used shells 'loaded with poisonous gas', a claim Thailand has denied. Cambodia has also said that Thailand has fired artillery shells on civilian villages.

Sources: BBC News, Christian Science Monitor, Financial Times, RTE, AFP, Al Jazeera, Seattle Times

For more information, please see the Menas Borders website, here.

Indonesia to send observation team to monitor Thai-Cambodia border

Indonesian FM Marty Natalegawa (C) with Cambodian FM Hor Namhong (L) and Thai FM Kasit Piromya

The Indonesian Defense Ministry has prepared an observer team that will monitor the armistice between Thailand-Cambodia at the border of the two countries, according to Indonesian news sources.

“We will announce it when it is confirmed,” said Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday 23rd February. He would not however, specify the composition of the team or when it would be established.

 

Purnomo was responding to Thailand and Cambodia's request for Indonesia to arbitrate their conflict, made during meetings in Jakarta on Tuesday 22nd February.

 

Both countries have agreed to a ceasefire after a border conflict two weeks ago left at least eight dead. The request was welcomed by the Indonesian government, which has responded by planning the observer team.

“The government will first send an advanced team to gather initial information,” said Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa following an informal ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Foreign Department's office in Jakarta on Tuesday, 22rd February.

Marty did not confirm the number of people in the team, but estimated there would be no more than 20 people in each. There will be two teams assigned at the Thai and Cambodian borders. “We haven't decided the leaders yet. Normally they would be military officers. I think there will be more military members,” he said.

Regarding the suggestion to form the observer team, Marty said he had spoken to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, and Indonesian Armed Forces Commander Admiral TNI Agus Suhartono. “It won't be in weeks, it will be formed within several days ,” he said.

According to Marty, if one of the countries violates the armistice at the border, the observer team will note it in the report. Later, the report will be submitted to the Indonesian government as the ASEAN 2011 leader. “We then will convey to both parties who has violated and why,” he said.

While the decision to bring in outside observers may appear to be a victory for Cambodia, who has long pushed for third party intervention, the Bangkok Post sounded cautiously optimistic that having observers there would prevent Cambodia from painting the picture of their victimhood at the hands of their larger neighbour.

The larger issue of border demarcation is still in the hands of Cambodia and Thailand, and while Cambodia wants to take the issue to the International Court of Justice, Thailand continues to put its faith in the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC). The date for the first meeting of the JBC since the clashes has not been set, and it is clear that the two sides are currently far apart from each other in their views.

Attention is starting to be turned towards the General Border Committee (GBC), a grouping chaired by the respective defence ministers. Despite the clashes, military ties are closer than the diplomatic ones, and it is hoped that the next GBC meeting will result in a pledge by both sides to end confrontation and restore peace at the border.

Determining ownership over the 4.6sq km at the base of the Preah Vihear temple – the main cause of tension – is beyond the mandate of the GBC however, and will require higher powers to fix.

Sources: Bangkok Post, TEMPO Interactive

For more information, see the Menas Borders website, here.

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.