The best Thailand could have hoped for

The court’s remit was only to interpret the 1962 ruling and it could not have reasonably assumed the power to overturn it and award the temple to Thailand, nor could it have apportioned the entire disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area, because that was not covered in the 1962 ruling.

The fact that France acted mischievously in ignoring the terms of the 1904 Franco-Siamese Treaty by including the temple in French territory on the 1907 map is not open to doubt. In 1962 the ICJ could have gone the other way. Three dissenting judges wanted to enforce the terms of the 1904 treaty and ignore the apparent Siamese acquiescence to France’s deliberate violation of it. Sadly for Thailand, the dissenting judges didn’t prevail in 1962 and there was no way the court could change that in 2013. 

Fortunately, Thailand is only likely to have to cede a very small portion of the disputed area on the side of the promontory, and Cambodia is unable to lay claim to Phnom Trap Hill next to the temple, which it badly wanted. Now Thailand needs to accept the very real historical injustices, while Cambodia should forget about trying to grab any of the disputed territory. Both countries need to work towards a solution that will reopen tourism and border trade in the area for the benefit of ordinary people on both sides of the border. They have always been the real losers over the decades of this dispute.

George Morgan

Bangkok