Thai-Cambodian Relations to Remain Cordial Regardless of the International Court of Justice Ruling

(22/04/2013)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, has stated that relations between Thailand and Cambodia would remain normal whatever the International Court of Justice’s verdict on Phra Viharn temple would be.

In the weekly program “Yingluck Government Meets the People,” broadcast on the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) and Radio Thailand on 20 April 2013, Mr. Surapong spoke about the Court’s public hearings on Phra Viharn from 15 to 19 April 2013 in The Hague.

Mr. Surapong said that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, in their several meetings, emphasized that both countries would accept whatever the International Court of Justice’s verdict on the issue may be. They would not allow the case to undermine Thai-Cambodian relations in various areas.

Mr. Surapong said that what he would like to see was that Thailand and Cambodia would continue to co-exist as neighbors and jointly develop the temple and the surrounding area. He and Mr. Hor Namhong, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, also stressed close bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

He pointed out that when the ASEAN Community is in place in 2015, Thailand and Cambodia will become inseparable. Like Laos and Myanmar, Cambodia shares many cultural similarities with Thailand. He explained that demarcation lines are likely to be meaningless, following the integration of ASEAN countries into a single community. So the best way forward is that both Thailand and Cambodia co-exist with good relations.

Meanwhile, the Thai Ambassador to The Hague, Mr. Virachai Plasai, who led the Thai legal team at the Court’s public hearings, said that Cambodia in 2007 unilaterally proposed the temple for listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thailand emphasized its stance that the inclusion of the Temple of Phra Viharn on the UNESCO World Heritage List should be agreed jointly by both countries.

Cambodia and Thailand have claimed the area of 4.6 square kilometers surrounding the temple. After its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, the area has become the focus of a territorial dispute between the two countries.

Cambodia had asked the International Court of Justice to interpret its 1962 judgment in the case concerning the Temple of Phra Viharn by defining the terms “territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia” and the temple’s “vicinity.” The Court ruling in 1962 stated that the Temple of Phra Viharn is on Cambodian soil, without mentioning the border demarcation.

Mr. Virachai said that since Cambodia had submitted its request to the Court for an interpretation, Thailand needed to defend its position in the case. The Court ruling on the issue will be delivered in late 2013.