Border may be quiet, but Asean must mediate

According to a report from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG), “Waging Peace: Asean and the Thai-Cambodian Border Conflict”, Asean must do more to ensure the situation between the neighbouring countries does not flare up again. 

The report is still timely, as the media spotlight on the border conflict only faded because of the flooding in both countries; the dispute is far from over.

“Asean aimed to stop hostilities and restart negotiations when it engaged in the Preah Vihear dispute. While fighting on the Thai-Cambodian border has ceased since May, the ceasefire in place remains fragile,” said Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, ICG Southeast Asia analyst. “Until troops are withdrawn, independent observers deployed and border negotiations resumed, the risk of new fighting remains.” 

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over the area near the ancient Hindu temple in Cambodia for a long time, and a fierce battle erupted after Phnom Penh managed to list the temple as a World Heritage Site in 2008. 

Cambodia’s attempt to inscribe the Preah Vihear temple came against the backdrop of turmoil in Thai politics sparked by the 2006 coup that ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the ICG report noted. The yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) used the issue to whip up nationalist sentiment against the Thaksin-backed government and Cambodia in 2008, halting border demarcation and setting off the deadly bilateral confrontation. 

Asean’s engagement in the issue under Indonesia’s chairmanship, after fighting last February that produced scores of casualties and displaced tens of thousands of civilians, broke new ground for the regional grouping with the agreement to dispatch observers to monitor a conflict between member states. But despite an order from the International Court of Justice in July, deployment has yet to take place.

Although the ICJ awarded the 11th-century temple to Cambodia in 1962, Thailand still claims the area in its immediate vicinity, as the border has not been demarcated. The almost dormant dispute came back to life after the PAD accused the Thaksin-allied government of treason for supporting Cambodia’s bid to list the ancient Hindu temple ruins as a World Heritage Site. After the listing was approved in 2008, border clashes began and tensions were fuelled by the domestic political conflicts in Bangkok.

After deadly clashes early this year, Cambodia brought the conflict before the United Nations Security Council, which asked Asean to take the lead in resolving it. The regional body, with Thai and Cambodian consent, agreed to deploy Indonesian observers, but the initiative has been blocked by the parochial Thai military, which views it as a violation of Thai sovereignty.

With a history of broken ceasefires – which were piecemeal and mostly verbal – peace will not be truly secured until there is a comprehensive written ceasefire. As the General Border Committee, the defence minister-led bilateral forum, is scheduled to meet soon after some delays, both countries should expedite negotiations and start dispatching observers and withdrawing troops as ordered by the ICJ as soon as possible.

Moreover, this border dispute underscores the need for Asean to take more proactive and urgent action to prevent open hostilities between member states. 

“In trying to resolve the Thai-Cambodian clash, Asean, under Indonesia’s leadership, has laid out a methodology for dealing with future problems,” said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG Southeast Asia project director. “But this conflict remains a live challenge. Asean must achieve a certifiable peace on the disputed border, if it wishes to keep its own region secure in the future.”

At its summit in Bali last month, the Asean chair statement mentioned the Thai-Cambodian conflict in only one paragraph, and contained no clear plan on what to do next.