Prasat Ta Kwai loses protection after Cambodia militarises site, says Thai army
The Royal Thai Army says Prasat Ta Kwai has lost its protected status under the Hague Convention after Cambodia turned it into a military base to attack Thailand.
- The Thai army accuses Cambodia of using the Prasat Ta Kwai temple for military purposes, including as a base for weapons, ammunition depots, and surveillance systems.
- According to the Thai army, this military use causes the site to temporarily lose its protected status under an exception in the 1954 Hague Convention.
- Thailand argues this loss of protection gives it the legitimate right to take defensive action against threats originating from the temple.
The 2nd Army Area reported on Thursday (December 11) at 5.30am that Cambodian troops had opened fire on Thai soldiers at two locations: Hill 500 in the Chong Bok area of Ubon Ratchathani province, and along the border opposite Ban Komui, south of Phu Makua in Si Sa Ket province. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree, spokesperson for the Royal Thai Army, responded to a statement issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts condemning Thai military operations in the Prasat Ta Kwai area of Phanom Dong Rak district, Surin, and alleging that Thai attacks had damaged Preah Vihear.
He said Thailand strictly adheres to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which stipulates that ancient monuments must be protected and prohibits attacks or any actions that could cause them damage.
However, he noted that the convention clearly sets out exceptions where cultural sites are used for military purposes, such as serving as fortified bases, command and control centres, firing positions or assembly areas for offensive operations.
In such cases, those areas may temporarily lose their legal protection in so far as military operations are concerned.
Therefore, when the Cambodian side deliberately uses the precincts of ancient monuments as bases for military operations — including as locations for surveillance systems and weapons used to attack Thailand — those areas fall into the category of “temporarily losing protection” under the 1954 Hague Convention.
In the case of Prasat Ta Kwai and Preah Vihear, he said, Cambodia has used them for military purposes, including as sites for weapon systems, ammunition and explosives depots, and landmines employed in attacks against Thai forces. Photographic evidence of this is widely available on social media, he added.
It should therefore be Cambodia that is deemed to be violating humanitarian law and international norms, and to be the side that shows no regard for cultural heritage, Winthai argued.
Thailand, he concluded, has a legitimate right to defend itself against such threats in a necessary and proportionate manner, in line with international rules, since it is Cambodia that has forced Thailand to act.
