Thailand, Cambodia bicker over border rift
Source: Agencies |
May 5, 2011, Thursday
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THAILAND and Cambodia traded barbs yesterday over which side started a bloody border dispute that is set to take center stage at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in Jakarta this weekend.
Fighting between the two armies appeared to have eased after 12 days of artillery and gunfire that have killed 18 people on both sides, but there was no let-up in the diplomatic battle ahead of a summit of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva accused Cambodia of repeated attacks on Thai troops aimed at internationalizing a dispute over sovereignty and influencing foreign opinion in its favor.
"Each time we clashed, it's not an accident but an intentional attempt to push the conflict to the international stage," Abhisit told reporters.
His Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, said yesterday there was a need to build trust and agree to a cease-fire but appeared to ridicule Thai troops, which he said were "shooting because they are afraid of ghosts."
Exactly why the two countries are in conflict and which side fired first remain a mystery but many analysts say there are political forces on either side that stand to gain domestically if the crisis continues.
At the center of the latest flare-up are two 12th century stone-walled Hindu temples, Ta Moan and Ta Krabey, in a heavily mined jungle area that both sides claim.
The dispute over jurisdiction has been ongoing since the 1950s, when colonial power France pulled out of Cambodia. Another, more significant temple, Preah Vihear, was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice.
Fighting between the two armies appeared to have eased after 12 days of artillery and gunfire that have killed 18 people on both sides, but there was no let-up in the diplomatic battle ahead of a summit of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva accused Cambodia of repeated attacks on Thai troops aimed at internationalizing a dispute over sovereignty and influencing foreign opinion in its favor.
"Each time we clashed, it's not an accident but an intentional attempt to push the conflict to the international stage," Abhisit told reporters.
His Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, said yesterday there was a need to build trust and agree to a cease-fire but appeared to ridicule Thai troops, which he said were "shooting because they are afraid of ghosts."
Exactly why the two countries are in conflict and which side fired first remain a mystery but many analysts say there are political forces on either side that stand to gain domestically if the crisis continues.
At the center of the latest flare-up are two 12th century stone-walled Hindu temples, Ta Moan and Ta Krabey, in a heavily mined jungle area that both sides claim.
The dispute over jurisdiction has been ongoing since the 1950s, when colonial power France pulled out of Cambodia. Another, more significant temple, Preah Vihear, was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice.
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