ID :
13426
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 23:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/13426
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Thailand rejects ASEAN role in border row, Cambodia resorts to U.N.
SINGAPORE, July 22 Kyodo - ASEAN foreign ministers decided Tuesday not to immediately set up a proposed ''contact group'' to mediate a tense border standoff between Thailand and Cambodia, after Thailand opposed the idea on grounds the two countries should try to resolve their dispute bilaterally before seeking the help of outsiders.
''We think it's premature to set up the contact group since we can deal with the dispute by ourselves,'' Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Bunditkul told reporters after a hastily called informal lunch meeting with other foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, in an interview later Tuesday with Kyodo News in Phnom Penh, expressed regret over ASEAN's inaction and said Cambodia has little choice now but to seek help from the U.N. Security Council.
''Cambodia is not in a very joyful position to resolve the issue through the U.N. Security Council but Cambodia is forced to do so, or otherwise Cambodia has to accept the de facto occupation of Thai armed forces,'' he said.
In a letter subsequently sent to Hor Namhong by Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, as chairman of ASEAN, Yeo called Cambodia's resort to the UNSC overly hasty and warned it could ''harm ASEAN's standing and actually make the resolution of the issue more difficult,'' according to ASEAN sources.
The dispute over a border area near an ancient temple of Preah Vihear, which was recently inscribed as a World Heritage site, has flared up since Thai troops crossed into a contested area on July 15. It has since threatened to escalate into armed conflict.
On Sunday evening, Yeo had announced ASEAN's readiness ''to offer its facilities to be placed at the disposal of Cambodia and Thailand, in the event that they felt the need for further support to find an early resolution to the issue.''Cambodia accepted that offer the following evening after bilateral talks between Thai Supreme Commander Gen. Boonsang Niempradit and Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Banh in the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet ended with only pledges to refrain from violence and avert armed confrontation.
Tuesday's lunch meeting was called in response to Hor Namhong's letter sent to Yeo, in which he asked him to form an ''ASEAN Inter-Ministerial Group'' comprising the foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, which would be asked ''to help find a peaceful solution to the current crisis and to avoid military confrontation between two ASEAN members.'' An ASEAN official, who asked not to be identified, said ASEAN foreign ministers tried at the lunch meeting ''to convince both sides to accept our offer to play a mediating role.''''We have to defuse the tension as soon as possible because it's going to be bad for ASEAN,'' the official said.
But Yeo, in a statement issued after the lunch, said there was ''still no consensus'' on forming a contact group even though the idea had ''found favor with a number of foreign ministers.''''There was also a general view that the bilateral process should be allowed to continue,'' Yeo said.
''Both Cambodia and Thailand reiterated that they were committed to a peaceful resolution of the issue and assured me that the General Border Commission would continue to meet, and that the next meeting would be held in the near future,'' he said.
It marks the first time for ASEAN to face such a ''border predicament'' among its members, Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told reporters after the lunch meeting.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Hor Namhong, who is not participating in this week's ASEAN meetings in Singapore as he is involved in Cambodia's general election set for Sunday, told diplomats Tuesday that the UNSC will hold an emergency meeting next Monday on the Cambodia-Thailand military standoff, in response to Cambodia's request for such a meeting.
Sahas said that in his bilateral meeting Tuesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Yang agreed with him that Cambodia was being too hasty in bringing the dispute to the UNSC as it would complicate it further.
Sahas said Cambodia has not only raised the issue at the meetings of ASEAN foreign ministers, but also in meetings Tuesday in Singapore involving the ASEAN ministers and their counterparts from outside the region, including China, Japan, and South Korea, describing the standoff with Thailand as ''grave.''But Sahas disputed that assessment, saying the General Border Committee meeting was constructive and would be followed by series of bilateral meetings until the dispute ends peacefully.
In other developments, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday sent the letter to U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director General Koichiro Matsuura urging UNESCO to protect the Preah Vihear temple in light of the military standoff in the area.
''The Royal Government of Cambodia would like to request UNESCO to take the urgent action for the protection of this World Heritage site'', Hun Sen said in the letter.
The Cambodian premier referred to the World Heritage Convention and asked UNESCO to remind Thailand to comply with its obligations under the convention, the U.N. Charter and the judgment of International Court of Justice.
The ancient cliff-top temple was inscribed as a World Heritage site on July 7, capping seven years of efforts by Phnom Penh over Bangkok's objections.
Thailand had occupied the area from 1949 when Cambodia was a French protectorate, but Cambodia won possession of the temple through an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962.
''We think it's premature to set up the contact group since we can deal with the dispute by ourselves,'' Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Bunditkul told reporters after a hastily called informal lunch meeting with other foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, in an interview later Tuesday with Kyodo News in Phnom Penh, expressed regret over ASEAN's inaction and said Cambodia has little choice now but to seek help from the U.N. Security Council.
''Cambodia is not in a very joyful position to resolve the issue through the U.N. Security Council but Cambodia is forced to do so, or otherwise Cambodia has to accept the de facto occupation of Thai armed forces,'' he said.
In a letter subsequently sent to Hor Namhong by Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, as chairman of ASEAN, Yeo called Cambodia's resort to the UNSC overly hasty and warned it could ''harm ASEAN's standing and actually make the resolution of the issue more difficult,'' according to ASEAN sources.
The dispute over a border area near an ancient temple of Preah Vihear, which was recently inscribed as a World Heritage site, has flared up since Thai troops crossed into a contested area on July 15. It has since threatened to escalate into armed conflict.
On Sunday evening, Yeo had announced ASEAN's readiness ''to offer its facilities to be placed at the disposal of Cambodia and Thailand, in the event that they felt the need for further support to find an early resolution to the issue.''Cambodia accepted that offer the following evening after bilateral talks between Thai Supreme Commander Gen. Boonsang Niempradit and Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Banh in the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet ended with only pledges to refrain from violence and avert armed confrontation.
Tuesday's lunch meeting was called in response to Hor Namhong's letter sent to Yeo, in which he asked him to form an ''ASEAN Inter-Ministerial Group'' comprising the foreign ministers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, which would be asked ''to help find a peaceful solution to the current crisis and to avoid military confrontation between two ASEAN members.'' An ASEAN official, who asked not to be identified, said ASEAN foreign ministers tried at the lunch meeting ''to convince both sides to accept our offer to play a mediating role.''''We have to defuse the tension as soon as possible because it's going to be bad for ASEAN,'' the official said.
But Yeo, in a statement issued after the lunch, said there was ''still no consensus'' on forming a contact group even though the idea had ''found favor with a number of foreign ministers.''''There was also a general view that the bilateral process should be allowed to continue,'' Yeo said.
''Both Cambodia and Thailand reiterated that they were committed to a peaceful resolution of the issue and assured me that the General Border Commission would continue to meet, and that the next meeting would be held in the near future,'' he said.
It marks the first time for ASEAN to face such a ''border predicament'' among its members, Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told reporters after the lunch meeting.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Hor Namhong, who is not participating in this week's ASEAN meetings in Singapore as he is involved in Cambodia's general election set for Sunday, told diplomats Tuesday that the UNSC will hold an emergency meeting next Monday on the Cambodia-Thailand military standoff, in response to Cambodia's request for such a meeting.
Sahas said that in his bilateral meeting Tuesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Yang agreed with him that Cambodia was being too hasty in bringing the dispute to the UNSC as it would complicate it further.
Sahas said Cambodia has not only raised the issue at the meetings of ASEAN foreign ministers, but also in meetings Tuesday in Singapore involving the ASEAN ministers and their counterparts from outside the region, including China, Japan, and South Korea, describing the standoff with Thailand as ''grave.''But Sahas disputed that assessment, saying the General Border Committee meeting was constructive and would be followed by series of bilateral meetings until the dispute ends peacefully.
In other developments, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday sent the letter to U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director General Koichiro Matsuura urging UNESCO to protect the Preah Vihear temple in light of the military standoff in the area.
''The Royal Government of Cambodia would like to request UNESCO to take the urgent action for the protection of this World Heritage site'', Hun Sen said in the letter.
The Cambodian premier referred to the World Heritage Convention and asked UNESCO to remind Thailand to comply with its obligations under the convention, the U.N. Charter and the judgment of International Court of Justice.
The ancient cliff-top temple was inscribed as a World Heritage site on July 7, capping seven years of efforts by Phnom Penh over Bangkok's objections.
Thailand had occupied the area from 1949 when Cambodia was a French protectorate, but Cambodia won possession of the temple through an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962.
