Cambodia welcomes Thai proposal for ASEAN dispute-settling mechanism

BANGKOK, Oct 12 (TNA) – Cambodia on Monday agreed with Thailand’s proposal to set up a mechanism to settle conflicts among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the group’s upcoming summit scheduled to take place later this month in the Thai seaside resorts of Cha-am and Hua Hin.
 
The Associated Press (AP) quoted Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong as saying in a prepared statement that he backed a proposal by his Thai counterpart that ASEAN set up an arbitration body to help resolve the conflicting dual claims to land adjacent to the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.
 
“I wish to propose that the dispute between Cambodia and Thailand in the area of the temple of Preah Vihear be included in the agenda of the ASEAN summit,” he was quoted as saying in a statement sent to Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
 
Mr Hor Namwong added that the issue is one of regional concern.
 
Meanwhile, Thani Thongphakdi, deputy director-general of the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Department of Information said the ministry believed that the report on Mr Hor’s statement was not accurate.
 
He said the Thai minister of foreign affairs, until now, spoke about the ASEAN dispute settling mechanism in terms of an agenda that was expected to be discussed at the summit, but not involved with the Thai-Cambodian border disputes.
 
Mr Thani said Thailand had affirmed the stance to solve the border disputes between the two countries via the bilateral mechanism under the framework of Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).
 
However, if there were any developments informed from Cambodia, the ministry would make the announcement, he said.
 
During a speech in the Thai capital last Thursday on the problem of land sovereignty along the Thai-Cambodian border, Mr Kasit said that the proposal is a matter of wider concern.

He also reportedly expressed hope that the mechanism will help sort out border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia.

Thailand will host the 15th ASEAN Summit and its related summits in Phetchaburi’s Cha-am district and Prachuab Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district October 23 to 25.
 
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has confirmed that he will attend the summit despite the renewed tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
 
Mr Hun Sen earlier announced that he had ordered his Khmer troops to shoot any intruders from Thailand who stepped on Cambodian soil, after protesters led by Thailand’s yellow-shirted Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rallied in Si Sa Ket province last month to oppose Cambodia’s plan to build new structures in the contested 4.6 square kilometre zone surrounding Preah Vihear.
 
The border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia flared up when former Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama signed a joint communique with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in June 2008 to support Cambodia’s sole application to list the 11th century temple as a World Heritage site, despite the question of sovereignty over the land having never been clearly resolved.
 
Mr Noppadon resigned on July 14, days after the Constitution Court ruled that his signing of a joint document backing Cambodia’s bid to list the long-disputed Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site without endorsement by Thailand’s parliament was in breach of the country’s supreme law.
 
On September 29, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) announced that it would seek legal action against former prime minister Samak Sundaravej and former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama over last year’s issuance of a joint communique with Cambodia to endorse the listing of the historic Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
 
The NACC found grounds to charge the duo over the approval of a Cabinet resolution at that time to endorse the listing of Preah Vihear temple without parliamentary endorsement as required by the Constitution.
 
The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, in a decision that Thailand was reluctant to accept and the surrounding land remains in dispute. (TNA)