ASEAN To Hear Border Row On Tuesday

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Asean to hear border row on Tuesday

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

Cambodia's Koy Kuong: We need a third party in the negotiations to solve the dispute; Thailand's Kasit: If Cambodia doesn't accept bilateral talks, it would violate UN ruling

The border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is still far from over, with the United Nations Security Council throwing the dispute to a regional forum of Asean foreign ministers next week in Jakarta, and a fresh clash on the ground yesterday near Preah Vihear.

The small-arms exchange between Thai and Cambodian troops at Chong Don Ai Pass in Si Sa Ket's Roung subdistrict in the early hours of yesterday injured one Thai soldier, according to Army spokesman Sansern Kaeowkam-nerd. Cambodian troops threw hand grenades and fired into the Thai side, he said.

The border skirmish erupted just hours after the Security Council called for a permanent ceasefire between the two conflicting parties.

The Security Council, as requested by Cambodia, had convened a meeting on the border conflict on Monday in New York to seek solutions to end the conflict.

UNSC president Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti in her press statement after the meeting said: "The members of the Security Council called on the two sides to display maximum restraint and avoid any action that might aggravate the situation.

"The members of the Security Council further urged the parties to establish a permanent ceasefire, and to implement it fully and to resolve the situation peacefully and through effective dialogue."

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong were in the meeting together with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who is the current chairman of Asean.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva interpreted the outcome of the Security Council meeting in favour of Thailand. "As the international community thinks the problem should be resolved through negotiation, Cambodia has no reason to refuse, [and] it should return to the talks."

Foreign ministers of the two countries would use the Asean forum on February 22 to discuss the issue again, he said.

Speaking from Phnom Penh, Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said his country also wanted to resolve the border conflict peacefully through negotiation. "But we need a third party in the negotiation," he said in a phone interview.

Bilateral negotiations as called for by Thailand did not work, he said. "How long have we stuck with the bilateral mechanism of the JBC [Joint Boundary Committee]? We have gone nowhere for nearly two years."

The boundary of the areas adjacent to Preah Vihear Temple had not been demarcated, he said. The JBC could not move its survey and demarcation task forward since its last meeting in Phnom Penh in April 2009, because of the delaying process of the Thai Parliament.

Kasit proposed a meeting of the JBC on February 27. "If Cambodia does not accept bilateral talks, it will violate the UNSC decision," he said.

While remaining silent on Kasit's call for a JBC meeting, Hor Namhong will attend the Asean meeting next week, spokesman Koy Kuong said, but declined to say what the country expected from it.

There will be three possible scenarios in the Jakarta meeting, according to former Thai ambassador to the UN Don Pramudwinai. Scenario 1: The two countries could talk on the conflict with some Asean elements present at the meeting. Scenario 2: The chairman of Asean would help facilitate the talk. Scenario 3: A low possibility, but Asean may activate its high council to settle the conflict, he said.

"As long as Asean is involved, we cannot say the conflict will go on a bilateral track," Don told The Nation. "The question is how much Asean will be involved." Cambodia wanted heavily involvement of a third party while Thailand wanted less, he said.

The UNSC welcomed Asean's effort to use the regional mechanism to end conflict between the two members. "The Security Council expressed support for Asean's active efforts in this matter and encouraged the parties to continue to cooperate with the organisation in this regard," Viotti said in the statement.

The role of Indonesia in the meeting remains unclear. The Asean Charter's Articles 22-25 suggest that members who are parties to a dispute may agree to resort to good offices, conciliation or mediation to resolve the dispute. Parties may request the chairman or secretary-general to provide good offices, conciliation or mediation.

-- The Nation 2011-02-16

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Cambodia to call for ASEAN border observers

PHNOM PENH, February 16, 2011 (AFP) - Cambodia said Wednesday it wanted regional observers to help impose a ceasefire on the tense border with Thailand after a request for UN peacekeepers was rebuffed earlier this week.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said he would ask for assistance from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to settle a row centred on a 900-year-old temple that erupted into four days of armed clashes earlier this month, leaving at least 10 people dead.

"I will request that ASEAN observers examine the ceasefire" in the border area, Hor Namhong told reporters in Phnom Penh after returning from a United Nations Security Council meeting on the matter in New York.

Hor Namhong and his Thai counterpart are both scheduled to attend an ASEAN meeting in Jakarta next Tuesday.

Both sides accused each other of fresh firing overnight.

Cambodia said in a statement that Thai troops had thrown grenades and fired machine guns and mortar rounds into Cambodian territory, but that it had not retaliated.

Thai army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said "sporadic skirmishes" had taken place through the night until the early hours of Wednesday, with both sides using grenades and machine guns.

There were no reports of injuries.

The two neighbours are at odds over a border area near the Preah Vihear temple, an 11th-century clifftop ruin that belongs to Cambodia but whose designation as a World Heritage site sparked the ire of Thai nationalists.

Both countries blame each other for the crisis.

Cambodia has insisted on the need for third-party mediation, while Thailand has repeatedly said it wants to resolve the row bilaterally.

The Security Council on Monday urged both countries to establish a "permanent ceasefire" but did not endorse a Cambodian request to deploy UN peacekeepers in the contested area.

It did, however, express support for mediation efforts by Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 1.8-square-mile (4.6-square-kilometre) surrounding area.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-02-16

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Who would not agree with such a wise request?

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Cambodia seeks Asean help

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

P Penh wants association to dispatch monitors but Thailand rejects call as border clash drags on

Cambodia will request that Asean send observers to monitor and ensure a permanent ceasefire in the disputed border areas adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, as border skirmishes with Thailand showed no signs of ending.

"I will ask for Asean observers in the area to control and ensure a permanent ceasefire," Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said at Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday upon his arrival from New York after the meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Cambodian-Thai border conflict.

"We will wait and see if Thailand accepts this suggestion or not, we will know the real ambition of Thailand," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Thailand immediately rejected Cambodia's idea, saying it was unnecessary as the border conflict between the two neighbouring countries was not so complicated.

Asean has called a meeting of its foreign ministers next Tuesday in Jakarta to discuss the border dispute between the regional grouping's two members.

The Security Council in its meeting on Monday urged the parties to establish a "permanent ceasefire" and fully implement it through effective negotiations. The UN body supported Asean's role in seeking a solution to end the conflict and urged Thailand and Cambodia to cooperate with the organisation in this regard.

It is not clear yet how the current chairman of Asean, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, will conduct the meeting next week.

Thailand expects the meeting will be an informal one to exchange views and information on the situation, said the foreign minister's secretary, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut.

"We have a very firm stance about solving this issue through bilateral mechanism and don't want to make the matter more complicated," he said.

"What the two countries need to do is just simply stop firing and sit face-to-face to solve the problem."

Thailand will not propose anything at the Jakarta meeting but merely present facts, listen to the views of members and create an atmosphere for reconciliation to pave the way for bilateral talks, Chavanond said.

However, Cambodia expects Asean to take some action to ensure peace in the disputed area.

"From now on, I will ask the Asean chairman or representative to join every meeting between Cambodia and Thailand," Hor Namhong said. "Even at the meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Committee, there must be a representative from Asean, because we have negotiated a lot with Thailand - from 2008 to 2010 - it was useless.

"The negotiations reach an agreement, but they don't implement it, making the excuse that it has not been passed by their Parliament," he said.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over the boundary at Preah Vihear for a long time. The current spate of violence erupted in 2008 when Phnom Penh managed to get the Hindu temple listed as a World Heritage Site despite Thailand's disagreement.

Cambodia has, since then, tried to raise the conflict at international forums, including the UN and Asean, seeking help from the organisations to ensure peace in the area.

The issue reached the UN and Asean after a heavy border skirmish from February 4-7, which killed at least 10 people, including three civilians on both sides. Both sides accused each other of starting the fire and invading the territory of the other.

"If Thailand accuses Cambodia of invasion and firing first, it should not reject observers to ensure a permanent ceasefire," Hor Namhong said.

The fighting has continued off and on. Another clash took place in the early hours of yesterday as troops from both sides exchanged small arms fire at Phu Ma Khua hill, a few kilometres west of Preah Vihear. There was no report of any casualties.

Cambodian troops failed at several attempts to break through the Thai front line at the area because of strong resistance, Army spokesman Sansern Kaeowkamnerd said.

Hor Namhong accused Thailand of aggression, saying that "despite the UNSC issuing a statement calling for a permanent ceasefire, Thailand still violated it and opened fire into Cambodian territory".

On Tuesday night, "they still shot ... It was strong, they fired mortars and threw many grenades into our land, and almost every night since before the meeting of the UNSC, they have opened fire and thrown grenades into our land," he said.

Meanwhile Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan is trying to engage in negotiations with his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh to forge a permanent ceasefire as suggested by the UN, Chavanond said.

-- The Nation 2011-02-17