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.

Visitors to Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple increase sharply in 2010

Tourists visiting Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple increased by almost four fold in 2010 thanks to good security and better infrastructure in the area, director of Preah Vihear province's tourism department Kong Vibol said on Saturday 1st January.

80,356 people visited the temple in 2010, up from 17,174 people in 2009, he told Chinese media source Xinhua by telephone. Of the figures, the domestic visitors were up 3.7 times to 78,419 from 16,405 and the foreign tourists increased by 1.5 times to 1,937 from 769.

"It's a huge increase of the tourists to the temple in 2010 due to better security and stability as the border tension with Thailand has been eased, and the good condition roads--easy to travel,"said Kong Vibol, adding "so visitors feel safe and more confidence to visit the temple."

Thailand and Cambodia had both claimed the eleventh century Hindu temple historically until it was awarded to Cambodia by the ICJ in 1962, based on a 1907 colonial era map. Thailand had been hoping to have the temple jointly listed by UNESCO, but in July 2008, it was enlisted as a World Heritage Site under Cambodian jurisdiction. Soon after a border conflict broke out over claims to the 1.8 square miles at the base of the temple that were not ruled on in 1962. Periodic clashes have broken out since and the border area in the region is heavily militarised. Thailand threatened to withdraw from UNESCO in July 2010 over Cambodia's new land management plans, and UNESCO's decided to put off deciding on the plans until 2011.

Keen to avoid violence, both sides have dedicated themselves to finding a diplomatic solution and the prime ministers of each country have met four times since September.

Given the uncertainty that surrounded the temple throughout July and August, it is perhaps surprising that the temple's tourist numbers were so strong. Perhaps the renewed attention the temple recieved as a result of the conflict boosted domestic tourist numbers as part of a show of nationalism and loyalty.

Thai access to the temple was blocked off as of June 2010, therefore the number of Thai tourists this year was likely to be very limited. In December 2010 however, Cambodia announced that they would reopen the border in the new year, thereby paving the way for increased numbers of Thai tourists in 2011.

In 2010, Preah Vihear province as a whole received 135,657 tourists, up 119 percent from 61,903 in 2009, Kong Vibol said. Of the figure, foreign tourists were up 32 percent to 11,249 from 8,512 in 2009.

Preah Vihear province has three ancient temples for tourists. They are Preah Vihear temple, Koh Ker temple and Preah Khan Kampong Svay temple.

Source: Xinhua

For more information on Thailand and Cambodia's dispute over the Preah Vihear temple, please see the menas borders website, here.

Tensions remain, but Thailand and Cambodia look for diplomatic solution to temple dispute

In recent weeks, tension between Thailand and Cambodia over the 11th century Preah Vihear Hindu temple – after which one of Cambodia's northern provinces is named - on their border has heated up to near breaking point, but military conflict seems to be a less likely option now as both countries have committed themselves to a diplomatic solution.

Tension has existed over the temple for many years, despite a 1962 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that the temple was in Cambodian territory. The ruling did not, however, include the adjacent land where access to the temple largely lies, and which Thailand insists is its own territory.

Thailand sought to have the countries jointly seek World Heritage status for the site, based on a 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). However the then Thai Foreign Minister, Noppadon Pattama, was forced to resign in 2008 after it emerged that he had signed a joint communiqué with Cambodia in breach of the Thai constitution. This opened the way for Cambodia to make a separate application for World Heritage Site status which was granted in July 2008. Border skirmishes between the two countries broke out soon afterwards.

The issue re-emerged in late July 2010 when Cambodia moved to submit a new management plan for the temple and 4.6 sq km of adjacent land during UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil. The Thai delegation, led by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, attended the forum to lobby against the plan, and argued that the committee should not consider the plan until Thailand and Cambodia have agreed on a demarcation line. Thailand fears that acceptance of the Cambodian management plan would result in a buffer zone being created around the temple, and on 29th July, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that his country would withdraw from UNESCO if the committee accepted the Cambodian plan.

UNESCO agreed to delay making a decision on the plan until the next World Heritage Committee meeting, due to be held in Bahrain in 2011. This failed to resolve the tension however, with both countries accusing the other of military threats. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote to the UN accusing Thailand of threatening to use military force, while Thai troops on the border have reported Cambodian troop movements. Cambodian officials have requested mediation from both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Vietnam, which is the current chair of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but Thailand has said it is a bilateral issue that does not require third-party intervention. Vejjajiva has, however, set up talks with Ban in an effort to ensure that the Secretary-General understands the Thai position before his scheduled visit to Cambodia on 27th October.

Domestic political issue in Thailand have also contributed to the dispute, because the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which is in alliance with Vejjajiva's Democrat Party, led the 28th July protest at UNESCO's Bangkok office. This was in defiance of the emergency decree prohibiting political gatherings that were put in place after political violence in the spring. The group wants Thailand to cancel the 2000 MoU which it claims put Thailand at a disadvantage.

While both sides now agree that diplomatic solutions can be found, Cambodia has postponed a General Border Committee meeting that was due to be held on 27th August, citing tension as the cause.

Thailand, however, has continued to push for a new meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission, to prevent international interference in the dispute. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong met with ASEAN General Secretary Surin Pitsuwan in Phnom Penh on 16th August, but Thailand declined to send a representative, arguing that the dispute should not be raised to a regional level.

The Preah Vihear temple is only one issue in the long-running border dispute between the neighbouring countries. The maritime dispute – resulting in the 27,000 sq kms Overlapping Claims Area (OCA) – has been in force majeure for decades and has prevented any exploration in the seemingly oil-rich area.

Menas Borders has undertaken detailed analysis of the Thailand-Cambodia maritime dispute. For further details please contact info@menasborders.com

Sources: MCOT, MCOT 2, Bangkok Post, Bangkok Post 2, Voice of America