Thai-Cambodian relations steadily improving

Thailand and Cambodia’s Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation had its 10th meeting last week and made good progress on issues of importance to both countries. Noticeable by its absence from the agenda, however, was the matter of the Preah Vihear ruins that have been the subject of a worrying territorial dispute since 2008. The ancient Hindu temple remains closed from the Thai side of the border it abuts.

Despite the battle over the temple that went to an international tribunal, and despite countless other creaking bones of contention between our countries, economic realities have kept Thai-Cambodia relations warm enough that we can push ahead with other issues on which national interests converge.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and his Cambodian counterpart, Prak Sokhonn, met at a Bangkok hotel on August 26 and, among other decisions, agreed to establish a “transit and reception centre for victims of trafficking and other vulnerable groups”. It was tangible evidence that the two countries are becoming more serious about the problem of people being shipped around the region against their will or otherwise abused without regard for basic rights.

Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians work in Thailand, most quite legally but many others here by deceit or misfortune. Both groups will benefit if their governments pool efforts to care for their wellbeing. The ministers also agreed to proceed with issuing passports and other travel documents to Cambodian migrant workers. Once their nationality is verified, they should find it easier to find legal jobs here.  

Established in 1994, the joint commission has played an important role in helping Thailand and Cambodia maintain a good working relationship. Perhaps the most notable decision reached last week entailed boosting bilateral trade to US$15 billion 

(Bt519 million) by 2020, the target set at the second Joint Cabinet Retreat last December.

Reaching that goal will require a daunting array of projects, including infrastructure such as cross-border transportation routes, the upgrading of border checkpoints, and better cooperation on trade and investment, energy, labour, agriculture and the environment. Some efforts are already underway – roads, railways and frontier checkpoints are being upgraded – but much work remains to be done up and down our 798-kilometre land boundary. 

While the Sa Kaeo-Banteay Meanchey area is witnessing a flurry of development because it’s a key hub for border trade, the Thai Northeast and Cambodian North have been given short shrift. Their priority needs to be raised.

Meanwhile the fact that the Preah Vihear temple wasn’t even mentioned last week should not be interpreted to mean it has lost any importance to either side. The International Court of Justice in 2013 might have accepted Cambodia’s argument that the temple sits entirely in its territory, but it also ordered both countries to work out a mutual-use agreement for the surrounding area. That has never been done to the satisfaction of the Thai businesspeople catering to tourists there.

In 2011 the neighbouring nations sacrificed the lives of several soldiers over the cliff-top Khmer sanctuary, which had been designated a World Heritage site three years earlier, enhancing its international appeal as a tourist attraction. The Court of Justice foresaw both countries benefiting from that. Thailand had paved a road up the mountain to the foot of the promontory on which Preah Vihear sits and residents opened shops, restaurants and souvenir stands, ready to cash in on the tourist trade. Yet, to this day, any travellers arriving from the Thai side find they can’t get into the site, and there is no indication of when the Thai entry point might open, if ever. 

It’s a shame that Cambodia and Thailand, so ready to cooperate on mutual development elsewhere, 

can’t even bring themselves to talk about this.