No shortcut across Thai-Cambodian minefield

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EDITORIAL
No shortcut across Thai-Cambodian minefield
The Nation

Only a clear agreement on border demarcation will defuse anger over Preah Vihear Temple dispute

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made a minor misstep in the minefield of Thai-Cambodian relations on the eve of his official visit to our neighbour last week.

Prior to his departure for Phnom Penh, Prayut proposed an idea for joint development of Preah Vihear, the ancient temple ruins at the centre of a long-running border dispute between the two countries. For this, Cambodia would have to open a gate to the north-west of the temple to allow access for visitors from the Thai side. However, before Prayut had a chance to discuss the matter with his counterpart Hun Sen, Cambodia's Foreign Ministry killed the proposal. It said that that reopening the approach to Preah Vihear from the Thai side was "unnecessary" since Cambodia had sufficient infrastructure to serve tourists who wanted to visit the heritage gem.

It is not hard to understand Phnom Penh's response. First, Cambodia is eager to exploit tourism to aid development of its border provinces. Second, Phnom Penh is still angry over past disputes over the temple.

Although Prime Minister Hun Sen told Prayut that he would not allow the dispute to jeopardise relations between Thailand and Cambodia, the wound of Preah Vihear is still fresh and healing measures at the border adjacent to the temple have yet to be undertaken.

Prayut and his inner circle in the military know well that the Thai nationalist movement has employed all means at its disposal to block tourism development at Preah Vihear. Not only did nationalists obstruct Unesco's world heritage listing, they fomented a border skirmish to bar the World Heritage Committee's efforts to restore the temple.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year confirmed the 1962 judgement that ruled Cambodia owns the whole promontory on which the temple sits. The court made clear that Thailand had no right to block access to the temple from the south-west, thereby clearing the way for Cambodia to build infrastructure for tourist access from its side.

However, the issue of access from Thailand's Pha Mo E-daeng on the north-west side remains unresolved. The court simply said that the limit of temple's vicinity follows the borderline marked on the old French map cited in its ruling. In practice, it is difficult to translate the line on the map to the geography on the ground. The court told both sides to cooperate "in good faith" to define the boundary line in the area. But the start of this process of cooperation has been delayed by Thailand's recent domestic turmoil.

What Prayut's government must do first is to commission Thai experts and officials to meet with their Cambodian counterparts and forge an agreement on the line of the temple's vicinity according to the ICJ's judgement.

It might take time - perhaps until the end of Prayut's administration - but an undisputed boundary line is necessary in order to prevent future conflict over the temple.

In theory, Prayut's proposal is a good one: By jointly developing Preah Vihear as a tourist destination both countries could bypass their boundary demarcation difficulty. But it should have been adopted before the dispute flared up in 2008, when Thai nationalists would have agreed to support Phnom Penh's move for world heritage status. With nationalist sentiment now badly bruised, it's probably too late for such a compromise. The best solution for Prayut now is to clarify the borderline.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia are getting back on track. In Phnom Penh, Prayut extended the cooperation between the countries by overseeing the signing of three memoranda of understanding - on tourism, the elimination of human trafficking, and a rail link. Of course, much of the groundwork for such schemes had already been laid, but this administration should feel no shame in honouring the obligations made by a government it replaced after a coup.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/No-shortcut-across-Thai-Cambodian-minefield-30246882.html


-- The Nation 2014-11-04

[NeilSA1]

This matter has dragged on. I hope Thailand behaves honorably.

[rickirs]

"... this administration should feel no shame in honouring the obligations made by a government it replaced after a coup."

Too bad it didn't feel obligated to honor the 2007 Constitution with its overthrow of the previous government. Cambodia has had a history of suspicion with the Thai military's intentions. I doubt the Cambodian government has improved its sense of faith and trust in the new Thai government given the manner by which the military came to dominate the government. I think the Cambodian government would feel more comfortable and trusting with a civilian elected government that might be able to counter balance the military.