Thai-Cambodia Shiva temple conflict has Indian architect anguished

Aerial view of Preah Vihear temple.

Sanjib Kr Baruah,
Hindustan Times

New Delhi, March 09, 2011

With tension palpable along the Thai-Cambodia border, regional grouping ASEAN has proposed a meeting between the two countries on March 24-25 to resolve the vexed border issue that centers around the stunning 900-year-old stunning Preah Vihear temple complex dedicated to Shiva, one of the trinity of Hindu Gods. It is a temple that architect Divay Gupta helped restore.

Understandably Gupta is a worried man. "I was there in January last year and have been going there on and off for the last five years. I have heard there has been some damage on the temple. It is already very fragile and there is threat of the entire structure collapsing," he told HT.

As an international expert under a UNESCO project, Gupta had helped prepare the management plan for the temple complex. The effort led to the listing of the monument as a world heritage site on July 7, 2008, sparking off a decades-long dispute that led to Thai and Cambodian troops exchanging machine gun and artillery fire that has resulted in many deaths—both of soldiers and civilians—besides leading to the displacement of thousands.

Heavily landmined in the aftermath of the decades-long war in Cambodia, the border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated.

The present dispute has its roots in 2008 when anti-government protesters in Thailand vehemently criticised the Thai regime for backing Cambodia's bid to list the site as a world heritage site.

Contending claims to the Shiva temple and its surrounding area have stirred nationalist passion in the two countries for generations.

More than a decade ago, the 11th century temple area was under the control of the remnants of Pol Pot's guerrilla army, the Khmer Rouge. It predates the famous Angkor Wat temple complex by more than 100 years.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice had awarded the 4.6 sq km area comprising the temple and its precincts to Cambodia, irking Thailand no end, whose military regime had organised a fund-raiser where every citizen donated 1 baht to pay for the Thai legal effort at The Hague.

Situated on a hillock, the temple is mainly accessible from the Thai side as it was land-mined from the Cambodian side by Khmer Rouge guerrillas besides being a very steep 600-metre climb.

The descent from the temple has a bloody history with thousands having been blown to bits in 1979 when Thai soldiers forced some 45,000 refugees to climb down the mined precipice to Cambodia.

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The History of Khmer-Thai Conflict at Preah Vihear

By Khmerization
7th Marc, 2011

Preah Vihear temple was constructed by the Khmer kings Suryavarman I (1002 -1050) and Suryavarman II (1113 -1150) and was controlled by subsequent Khmer rulers until the late 18th century. It fell under Siam’s (Thailand’s) control around 1794 when Siamese rulers, taking advantage of a weak and fractured Cambodia, annexed Battambang, Sirisophorn, Tonle Ropov, M’lou Prey (parts of present day’s Stung Treng province) provinces and Siem Reap province which administered Preah Vihear temple before Preah Vihear province was created in 1962 (1).

Due to internal feuding and prolonged and protracted internal strife, Cambodia has become so weak in the later part of 18th and 19th centuries that Cambodia’s eastern part of the Mekong River was controlled by Annam (Vietnam) and the western part of the Mekong River was controlled by Siam (Thailand).

The French Protectorate and the War with Siam

Fearing that Cambodia might eventually be totally swallowed by Vietnam to the east and Thailand to the west, King Norodom (Sihanouk’s great grandfather) had invited King Napoleon III of France to establish a protectorate over Cambodia in 1863.

In 1867, the Siamese rulers recognized France’s protectorate over Cambodia, but Siam still maintained control over Battambang, Sirisophorn, Tonle Ropov, M’lou Prey provinces. In 1883, King Norodom had signed a treaty to put Cambodia under the French colony. Since then, France had always wanted to recover Cambodia’s and Laos’ lost provinces from Siam. In 1886, France fought a brief war with Siam when combined French, Cambodian and Laotian troops pushed Siamese troops beyond the left bank of the Mekong River in Laos in an attempt to liberate all Laotian and Cambodian provinces on the western side of the Mekong River, including Cambodia’s Tonle Ropov and M’lu Prey provinces and Laotian Champassak province.

In 1893, France fought another naval war with Siam on the Gulf of Thailand when French naval forces defeated Siamese naval forces and captured Siamese provinces of Trat and Chantaburi and French naval vessels had reached Bangkok through Menam on 8th July 1893 and gave King Chulalongkorn the ultimatum of France’s wish to re-integrate provinces on the left bank of the Mekong River to France control (2). On 29th July 1893, Siamese King Chulalongkorn had accepted the term of France’s ultimatum. On 3rd October 1893, France and Siam signed a treaty to return all Laotian provinces and the Cambodian provinces of Tonle Ropov and M’lou Prey to French control. France did not demand Siam to return Battambang and Siem Reap province, where Preah Vihear temple was situated, to Cambodia yet, but it had put a clause in the treaty to ban Siam from stationing any Thai troops in the provinces.

However, under the provision of article 3 of the 1893 treaty, France has the rights to recover all Laotian and Cambodian provinces annexed by Siam and provided unrestricted French powers to ensure the protection of all Laotian and Cambodian ethnic minority living in those provinces. The article stipulates “about the rights of France to provide protection to Khmers, Annamites (Vietnamese) and Laotians living inside Siam. France has the obligations to provide protection to these people by laws not to be oppressed by Siamese authority”. This clause means that Siam had lost its sovereignty over all Laotian and Cambodian provinces annexed by Siam. Furthermore, it would mean the return of all of these provinces to Laos and Cambodia.

Realising that Siam had been hard-pressed by France, Siamese King Chulalongkorn embarked on a tour to Russia, Germany, England and then France to garnish support and to lobby them to press France to abandon its ambition to recover all annexed Laotian and Cambodian provinces. In France, he asked French President Félix François Faure to cancel the 1893 Treaty. The French president agreed to cancel the 1893 treaty if Siam agreed to return Battambang, Siem Reap and Chantaburi to French control.

The Return of Battambang and Preah Vihear

In 1902, France cancelled the 1893 treaty and renounced its rights to protect all Khmers, Laotians and Vietnamese living in Siam, by only accepting the return of M’lou Prey and Tonle Ropov provinces, which cover only 20,000 km2. This agreement outraged the French public and the French parliament refused to ratify it. In 1904, France had negotiated a treaty and forced Siam to return M’lou Prey and Tonle Ropov to Cambodia. Under a secret clause in this treaty, Siam is required to transfer all police powers to France in Battambang, Siem Reap and Sirisophorn provinces.

In 1906, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau ordered the French Protectorate Authority to enter into a negotiation with Siam for the return of many more Cambodian annexed provinces. The 1907 Franco-Siamese treaty was concluded on 23rd March which required Siam to return Battambang, Siem Reap (Preah Vihear province was still under Siem Reap) and Sirisophorn provinces to Cambodia. The French parliament ratified the treaty 20 days later. The Mixed Franco-Siamese Commission, which was established a few years earlier, began conduct border surveys to demarcate the Cambodian-Siamese borders and to plant border posts. After the demarcation works were completed, the Franco-Siamese Commission commissioned the topographic maps called the Dangrek Map. The Dangrek Maps (Annex 1) were produced and they put Preah Vihear temple under Cambodian sovereignty. Siam was given 11 copies of the maps and it had accepted the maps in their entirety (3).

The 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty

The 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty only allows the return to Cambodia of the provinces annexed by Siam after 1794. Under the treaty, Siam can retain all other 13 provinces it had annexed before 1794, including Kauk Khan (Sisaket), Surin, Nokor Reach Seima (Korat) , Buriram, Sakeo, Sankeac, Krat (Trat), Chantaburi, Neang Rong (Rayong) and so on, which had been annexed before 1794 (4). Under this treaty, Preah Vihear temple was put under Cambodia’s sovereignty.

The Thai Occupation of Preah Vihear temple and the 1962 ICJ Verdict

In 1954, less than one year after Cambodia gained independence from France and taking advantage of a weak Cambodia, Thailand sent its troops to occupy Preah Vihear temple. After 5 years of unsuccessful negotiations, Cambodia filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in 1959. On 15th June 1962, the ICJ, with the majority votes of 9 to 3, awarded the ownership of Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia. The judgment was accepted by Thailand and the 4.6 sq. km2 so-called “disputed zone” had not been claimed by Thailand for 46 years. The maps commissioned by the Franco-Siamese Mixed Border Commission in 1907 and provided to Thailand in 1908, and were used by the ICJ to reach its verdict in 1962, put the so-called “4.6 sq.km2 disputed zone” squarely under Cambodian sovereignty. With the majority votes of 9 to 3, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has adjudged:

“Thailand is under an obligation to withdraw any military or police forces, or other guards or keepers, stationed by her at the Temple, or in its vicinity on Cambodian territory”.

Thailand was obligated to withdraw all its troops and return all stolen artefacts to Cambodia. And in order to celebrate and to commemorate the ICJ victory over Thailand as well as to prevent future takeover of the temple by Thailand, the Cambodian government had created a new province in 1962 called Preah Vihear province, to honour the temple.

However, on 15th July 2008, one week after Unesco inscribed Preah Vihear temple on 7th July 2008, Thailand sent its troops to re-invade and re-occupy the Preah Vihear surroundings, the temple vicinity, and triggered a border conflict till today.

The so-called 4.6 sq.km2 disputed zone

The 1962 ICJ verdict (5) stated clearly that Thailand is under an obligation to withdraw troops from “the Temple, or its vicinity on Cambodian territory.” Maps from the 1907 treaty put the temple and its areas, the so-called 4.6 sq. km2, or the temple’s “vicinity”, claimed by Thailand, inside Cambodia. So, the 4.6 sq. km2 did not exist and the 1962 ICJ verdict was clear: the so-called 4.6 sq. km2 areas or the temple’s “vicinity” currently claimed by Thailand have been judged to belong to Cambodia.

Conclusion

By the 1962 verdict of the ICJ, the 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty and the 1908 map, the 4.6 sq. km2 did not exist and therefore Thailand’s current act of aggression against Cambodia by forcibly occupying the 4.6 sq. km2 zone constitutes an invasion of a sovereign state that could proceed to cause a regional instability. Cambodia, as a member of the international community, should seek international legal remedy one more time to settle the matter once and for all.

References

(1) Battambang during the Times of the Lord Governor, p. 211.
(2) http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2011/02/franco-siam-war-of-1893-over-cambodia.html
(3) https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12de40a91a9412a4&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D3be3c9113b%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12de40a91a9412a4%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_fvlot44f1%26zw&sig=AHIEtbSpj69vA-re7UkvtTZFy8esdWxqyg&pli=1
(4) http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/09/king-sisowaths-1906-protest-letter-to.html
(5) http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&code=ct&case=45&k=46&PHPSESSID=df1449206e4b8593a7f78076e318b471/2008/01/preah-vihear_1961bmp.jpg

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Pictures From Preah Vihear

Cambodian frontline commander Gen. Chea Tara talks with reporters Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Preah Vihear province,about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old Hindu temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian army soldier burns incense stick as he makes prayers next to a Buddhist monk at Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, which wasenlisted as UNESCO's World Heritage, in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Hundreds of Cambodian soldiers were camped Wednesday at a cliff-top Khmer temple and World Heritage site in the line of fire in deadly border skirmishes with Thailand. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian Buddhist monk, right, cooks meals together with army soldiers at Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, which was enlisted as UNESCO'sWorld Heritage, in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. A Cambodian army soldiers through the Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, which was enlisted as UNESCO's World Heritage site in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian army soldiers walk around Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, which was enlisted as UNESCO's World Heritage in Preah Vihear province,about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Hundreds of Cambodian soldiers were camped Wednesday at a cliff-top Khmer temple and World Heritage site in the line of fire in deadly border skirmishes with Thailand. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian army soldier stands near a crater on the compounds of Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Preah Vihear province,about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old Hindu temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian army soldier points at the damaged section of Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Preah Vihear province,about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old Hindu temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A sign is seen under Cambodian and UNESCO flags at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 9, 2011. Thailandand Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

An overview of Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, UNESCO's World Heritage, is seen in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Hundreds of Cambodian soldiers were camped Wednesday at a cliff-top Khmer temple and World Heritage site in the line of fire in deadly border skirmishes with Thailand. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Pictures by Radio Free Asia

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Pictures From Preah Vihear

Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong (R) shakes hands with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh February 7, 2011. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dispatched Natalegawa to Cambodia on Monday in a bid to defuse the Thai-Cambodian border crisis. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

A Cambodian woman carries her children after fleeing her home near the Preah Vhear temple on February 7. Cambodian and Thai troops held fire on their tense border on Tuesday as the world heritage body UNESCO prepared a mission to inspect an ancient temple reportedly damaged in the deadly standoff.(AFP)

Cambodian army soldiers eat lunch Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old Hindu temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian army soldier takes photographs of the damaged section of Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Preah Vihearprovince, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old Hindu temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian soldier talks on a phone from his position at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 9,2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Phat Lin (L), a Cambodian boy who stays with soldiers and monks, sits at a window of the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailandand Cambodia February 9, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Phat Lin (L) and Ol Pros, Cambodian children who stay with soldiers and monks, rest at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailandand Cambodia February 9, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Buddhist monks, who stay with Cambodian soldiers, sit outside their shrine at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and CambodiaFebruary 9, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Ol Pros, a Cambodian boy who stays with soldiers and monks, rests at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia February9, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A Cambodian soldier smokes a cigarette at his unit's position in the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia February9, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day.REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A Buddhist monk and a Cambodian soldier prepare food at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 9, 2011.Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding a 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

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Cambodia insists no soldiers stationed at temple, a claim that Thailand and media refute

via CAAI

By Todd Pitman, The Associated Press

The Canadian Press

The UNESCO's World Heritage Committee flag drops from the pole near the temple entrance of the Cambodia's 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple, which was enlisted as UNESCO's World Heritage site in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011. The flag dropped during an armed clash between Cambodian and Thai troops last weekend. Thailand accused Cambodia of refusing to negotiate to resolve a border dispute that led to the fourth straight day of fierce clashes Monday, as Phnom Penh said that only U.N. peacekeepers can stop the fighting near an 11th century temple. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia - Cambodia angrily rejected Thailand's accusation that Cambodian troops used a centuries-old temple along their disputed border as a military base, revving up a war of words Wednesday amid a fragile truce.

The mountaintop Preah Vihear temple, designated as a World Heritage site, was the scene of fierce artillery battles during a four-day flare-up of a long-standing border dispute between the two neighbours. The fighting left at least eight dead and dozens wounded.

Shrapnel from the blasts chipped away at some of the sanctuary's ancient walls, sparking a debate between the two sides over how much damage was done and who is to blame.

Thailand accuses Cambodia of stationing soldiers at the temple and firing across the border at Thai soldiers, leaving them little choice but to retaliate.

Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday it "strongly rejects such a slanderous assertion," adding that "there has never been and there will never be Cambodian soldiers" at Preah Vihear temple.

"This has always been a place for worship and tourism," the statement said, adding that the only security presence at the temple is a small number of policemen with light weapons to ensure safety at the site.

On Wednesday, however, hundreds of Cambodian soldiers were seen by Associated Press journalists deployed in and around the sprawling temple compound, which was fortified by sandbagged bunkers.

Dressed in military camouflage, some played cards inside the temple's shaded walls. Some rested on cots or hammocks while others poured new sandbags and stacked them up. Aside from scattered rifles, weapons were not visible.

Cambodian officials said over the weekend that Thai artillery collapsed "a wing" of the temple, but Thai officials dismissed the account as propaganda. Tuesday was the first day journalists were able to visit the temple since Cambodia made the claim. Damage appeared to be light and the structure remained intact.

Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd defended his earlier remarks about Cambodian military presence at the temple.

"It's obvious," he said. "You can take a look at the photographs, even the ones taken by them. There's definitely military presence at Preah Vihear. Their soldiers fired at us from there."

"We never intended to attack Preah Vihear," he added."We would never want to damage such a valuable cultural and religious site. The firing only occurred when they fired at us from that location."

Preah Vihear temple, built between the 9th and 11th centuries, sits on a atop a 1,722-foot (525-meter) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains along a disputed border zone between Thailand and Cambodia. It has been a source of tension and fueled nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border for decades.

It is dedicated to the Hindu diety Shiva, but it was later used as a Buddhist sanctuary. The temple is revered partly for having one of the most stunning locations of all the temples constructed during the Khmer empire — the most famous of which is Angkor Wat.

The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but sovereignty over adjacent areas has never been clearly resolved.

In 2008, UNESCO backed Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a World Heritage site. Thailand initially supported the bid but then reneged after the move sparked domestic outrage and protests. Some Thais worried that the distinction would undermine their claims to a strip of surrounding land.

Both sides sent troops to the border, resulting in several small clashes over the years. But the latest skirmishes were the most intense yet, marking the first time artillery and mortars have been used, according to soldiers and locals.

The latest fighting comes as Thailand's embattled government faces protests from ultranationalists at home who say it hasn't done enough to protect Thailand's sovereignty in the border region.

UNESCO said Tuesday it plans to send a mission to the area to assess the damage.

"World Heritage sites are the heritage of all humanity and the international community has a special responsibility to safeguard them," UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement.

___

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report from Bangkok.

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Japan in Cambodia has China aid rival

Aid agenda: From right, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrive for the 13th ASEAN Plus Three summit in Hanoi last October. AP PHOTO

via CAAI

By PUY KEA

Kyodo News

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia, one of the least developed parts of Southeast Asia, extends a welcoming hand to economic aid from Japan and China, but analysts in the country are wary of the competitive intent of the nation's two largest aid donors.

Officially, the government hails both countries as champions of Cambodia's rehabilitation and development via their economic aid programs.

Japan has provided about $130 million a year since the early 1990s, mostly in the form of grant aid, while China channels its assistance largely through loans.

For years, however, some Cambodians and observers have been curious about the drive behind the Japanese and Chinese aid programs, as neither country imposes preconditions, a sharp contrast with economic aid from the United States and other Western powers that is often tied to human rights and democracy in recipient countries.

Since the early 1990s, the Japanese aid program in Cambodia has focused on infrastructure projects, including bridges, roads and irrigation networks. Japan has also been the largest donor of international funds to finance the U.N.-backed trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders.

Some Cambodians see Japan's financial assistance to fund the operation of the U.N.-backed tribunal as part of its contribution to help heal Cambodia's trauma from the brutal Khmer Rouge rule in the late 1970s.

Cynics, however, suggest Japan is giving money to finance Khmer Rouge trials as a way to harass China, Japan's major political and economic rival in Asia. Beijing backed the Khmer Rouge regime, which is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during its nearly four years of repressive rule.

A Japanese diplomat in Phnom Penh denies the allegation, saying Japan sees the importance of reconstruction and the rule of law in Cambodia.

"Japan has no hidden agenda behind our assistance, which has been given for humanitarian and rule of law purposes," the diplomat said.

Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, a Phnom Penh-based research institute, said Japan has been focusing on Southeast Asia in general and Cambodia in particular to maintain its economic role and political influence in the region.

Vannarith added Japan "is interested in balancing China's rise."

The rise of China, which has replaced Japan as the world's second-largest economy, has significantly bolstered its economic and diplomatic reach in Southeast Asia.

Vannarith said China has been conducting an experiment on its aid diplomacy in Cambodia and uses Cambodia as a model for other developing countries in the region and in the world at large.

"So far, China's aid to Cambodia has been very effective in terms of winning the heart of Cambodian leaders," he said.

In the last six years, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen paid 11 visits to China, more than to any other country, while Chinese leaders made six visits to the Cambodia.

King Norodom Sihamoni made five state visits to China between 2005 and 2010.

Hun Sen has no reservations about hailing Cambodia's close diplomatic ties with China.

"Starting from the restoration of Cambodia-China diplomatic relations in 1994, the ties developed to a level of mutual trust and confidence by 2004. We are now in the state of comprehensive cooperation and partnership," he said recently.

Hun Sen was also lavish in expressing Cambodia's gratitude to investments from China, which totaled $5.6 billion from 2008 to last June.

The growing economic ties between China and Cambodia have prompted words of caution from Washington.

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Nationalism is the reason for Thai-Cambodian rift: experts

via CAAI

February 9, 2011

BANGKOK -- Nationalist fervor and political grandstanding are stoking a deadly border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia but both sides will be keen to avoid major hostilities, experts say.

Although the exact trigger for a series of armed clashes in recent days is unclear, tensions have grown since seven Thais — including one lawmaker — were arrested by Cambodia in December near the frontier for illegal entry.

Two of them were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for spying, outraging nationalist Thais, who have held protests in Bangkok calling on their Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign.

Observers say the recent cross-border fighting, focused on the area surrounding an ancient Khmer temple, is being used in both countries to stir patriotic sentiment with elections on the horizon.

Yet while Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen has unleashed a torrent of fiery rhetoric, accusing Thailand of being an invading aggressor and calling for U.N. intervention, for Abhisit the standoff is seen as another unwanted headache.

“Hun Sen is deliberately playing this to vitalize nationalist sentiment and reinvigorate support for himself,” said Professor William Case, director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre at the City University of Hong Kong.

Hun Sen is “something of a tough guy ... but I don't think it will be allowed to get totally out of hand,” he told AFP.

“On the Thai side this is a confrontation that the leadership would very much like to avoid. The nationalism on the Thai side is not so much coming from the government but from the masses, to which it has to respond.”

“Yellow Shirt” Thai nationalists turned out in their thousands over the weekend demanding Abhisit's resignation over the issue.

The royalist protest movement is strongly critical of Cambodia over issues such as the border row and Phnom Penh's appointment of Thailand's fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economics adviser in 2009.

Seven people, including at least two civilians, have been killed since the fighting broke out on Friday around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, with both sides accusing each other of firing the first shots.

Ties between the neighbors have been strained since the temple was granted U.N. World Heritage status in July 2008.

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

“Nationalistic fervor is fueling both sides of the conflict,” said Professor David Chandler, a Cambodia expert at Australia's Monash University.

“Kicking Cambodia around has been a Thai hobby since the 14th century; Cambodia biting back dates from the colonial era and of course from the World Court 1962 decision.”

Michael Montesano of the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore said the border issue “certainly plays well” in Cambodia.

“Cambodian efforts to protect their rights along the border and stand up to a stronger Thailand have political benefits for Hun Sen,” he said.

The 59-year-old strongman — who has ruled since 1985, vowing to remain in power until he is 90 — is looking ahead to a general election in 2013.

In contrast in Thailand the government and military would prefer to avoid a confrontation, while nationalist activists “are determined to keep tensions with Cambodia on the boil,” said Montesano.

The Yellow Shirts were once allies of the establishment-backed Abhisit, but relations have soured and the group's political party is eyeing elections expected some time this year.

“With elections in Thailand approaching, the country's civil society nationalists will play the Cambodia card to build up support for their parties,” said Paul Chambers, a Thai expert at Germany's Heidelberg University.

“Preah Vihear has fallen victim to ultra-nationalism on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border.”

Despite the tough talk and casualties on both sides, observers believe the risk of a full-blown conflict remains slim.

“It will be a matter of bilateral negotiations with the possibility of further skirmishes,” said Professor Mark Turner at the University of Canberra in Australia. “It's difficult to envisage any widening of the armed conflict.”

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UN chief seeks to end Thai-Cambodia border clashes

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09 February 2011

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday on ending their border conflict and said he again offered UN help to negotiate a deal.

At least eight people have been killed in four days of cross-border shelling which the two neighbors have blamed on each other.

With a lull in fighting since early Monday, the UN Security Council has held back from formal talks on the clashes to give time to an Indonesian mediation bid, diplomats said.

Cambodian soldiers stand on a military truck as they travel past a check point near the Preah Vhear temple in Preah Vihear province, some 500km northwest of Phnom Penh

The UN chief told reporters that he had spoken by telephone with Cambodia's Premier Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva about the renewed clashes around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear.

Ban said he urged both "to end violence, to exercise restraint, and find a lasting solution to the dispute through established mechanisms and arrangements. The United Nations remains at their disposal to assist."

Hun Sen has called for a UN buffer force to be put on the border and for an urgent Security Council meeting on the clashes, which have left five Cambodians and three Thais dead.

In a letter sent to the United Nations on Monday, Hun Sen accused Thailand of launching "a full scale armed aggression against Cambodia, using heavy sophisticated weapons," according to a copy seen by AFP.

The Cambodian leader said that some of the Thai artillery shells "have landed as far as approximately 20 kilometres inside Cambodian territory," added the letter.

Hun Sen called the shelling "extremely grave aggressions by Thailand" to justify his demand for an urgent Security Council meeting.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said in his letter to the United Nations that Cambodia had set off the hostilities on Friday afternoon - hours after he had held talks in the region with his Cambodian counterpart.

"On February 4, 2011 at 15:20 hours, Cambodian troops opened fire at a Thai military post at Phu Ma Khua in Thai territory, using heavy weapons such as mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, recoilless rifles, long range artillery and multi-launcher rockets," said the minister.

He added that on top of the deaths and about 13 wounded Thai, some 6,000 people had fled their villages on the Thai side of the border.

"While Thailand has always exercised maximum restraint, Thai soldiers had no choice but to exercise the inherent right of self-defence" under the UN charter, the minister added in the letter, which was also released to AFP.

"Thailand protests in the strongest terms against such repeated and unprovoked armed attacks by Cambodian troops, which constitutes an act of aggression," said the letter.

The Thai minister said the two sides were "engaging in close consultations" to end the dispute.

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ASEAN offers help to resolve Thailand-Cambodia dispute

Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa says ASEAN is pushing for a 'regional conversation' about the Thai Cambodia border dispute. [Newsline]

via CAAI

Sabrina Tumewu

Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, says Thailand and Cambodia are committed to stabilising relations along their disputed border.

Troops from both countries remain on high alert after border clashes earlier this week around the disputed Preah Vihear temple.

The Thai government says it's ready to hold talks with Cambodia and ASEAN is offering to broker negotiations.

ASEAN's rotating chair is Indonesia, and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, has told Radio Australia's Indonesian service he's been discussing the matter separately with Phnom Penh and Bangkok.

"Both Thailand and Cambodia, despite the recent incidents on the border, are committed to resolve whatever outstanding issues they have between them through peaceful means, and through dialogue and good relations," he said.

"Both countries, I think, recognise between them that the ceasefire must be made more permanent and recognise that this situation must be stabilised, and they are open to the idea of having Indonesia as part of the modality to ensure that the ceasefire holds."

ASEAN's ability to mediate the dispute is expected to be a critical test of the grouping's effectiveness and relevance.

Mr Natalegawa says ASEAN is pushing for a "regional conversation" about the Thai Cambodia border dispute.

"We are not in the business of adjudicating between the two sides' positions - simply to say that these issues must be resolved by peaceful means, by negotiation and that it's not helpful for them to engage in shooting across the border that they have," he said.

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Latest Pictures from Preah Vihear

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