Hun Sen blasts Thailand

7/05/2011
AFP

Cambodia accused Thailand of invading its territory Saturday on the opening day of a summit of Southeast Asian leaders that was supposed to focus on plans to create a regional economic zone.

"Thailand as a big country continues to have the ambition of prolonging the armed conflict in order to violate weaker neighbouring Asean members," Hun Sen told the assembled leaders, according to a transcript provided to reporters.

"The invasion of the Thai troops of Cambodia's territory resulted in a series of clashes and eventually a large-scale war from the 4th to the 7th of February, 2011."

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters after the encounter: "We had a frank discussion this morning."

"We need to resolve the problem because we don't want this to be a problem that would affect Asean's agenda on community building," he added.

The border spat was not on the formal agenda of the two-day summit but is overshadowing discussions on Asean's long-term efforts to create a closely integrated regional economic zone by 2015.

Other issues on the table include food and energy security, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the scourge of human trafficking and East Timor's membership bid.

But even before the presidents and prime ministers of the disparate 10-nation bloc sat down in Jakarta's cavernous convention centre, their discussions had been framed by negative news from troubled member states.

Burma stole the headlines on Friday when Asean officials announced that the military-led country -- which is under Western sanctions for serial human rights abuses -- had asked to chair the group in 2014.

US-based Human Rights Watch said Asean, already struggling for credibility, would become the "laughing stock of intergovernmental forums" if it granted the request.

Asean leaders are meanwhile facing mounting pressure to help end the Thai-Cambodian conflict, which has claimed 18 lives and temporarily displaced 85,000 people in weeks of clashes.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke of rising food and energy prices, climate change and unrest in the Middle East during his opening remarks.

But without mentioning the Thai-Cambodian row, he also reminded his fellow leaders that Asean could no longer use the bloc's long-held principle of non-interference to shirk the need to resolve conflicts between member states.

"We realise that to ensure a peaceful and stable East Asia region, we must ensure stability and security in our region," said the ex-general who commanded UN military observers in Bosnia.

"If conflict occurs, Asean must be capable of facilitating a forum for diplomacy and open dialogue with the intent of attaining common peace."

Asean's halting efforts to negotiate an end to the clashes are being closely watched as a litmus test of its soaring ambition to create an integrated regional community in just four years' time.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa met his counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia in Jakarta on Friday and said they had agreed to accept Indonesian military observers at the disputed frontier.

But he said the modest observer mission, which would have no power to police a ceasefire, had yet to be dispatched because of stubborn differences over troop locations.

Hun Sen said Phnom Penh would never agree to Bangkok's demands to pull troops out of the Preah Vihear temple, which is Cambodian territory according to a 1962 World Court ruling.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said that bilateral talks should continue and that there was little enthusiasm among Asean leaders for the conflict to be internationalised with direct UN involvement, as Cambodia has sought.

"I think what all the other Asean leaders have been saying this morning is that we should keep the conflict within the Asean family," he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have publicly backed Asean's mediation role.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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Cambodia rejects Thai demands over temple troops

Cambodian soldiers gather in a military camp in Banteay Ampil district of Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia (AP Photo/Xinhua, Sovannara)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

via CAAI

Posted: 06 May 2011

JAKARTA: Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Friday rejected a Thai demand to withdraw troops from an 11th-century Khmer temple at the disputed border, saying Bangkok was not sincere about peace.

"We never can withdraw our troops from our own territory. That should be very clear," Hor Namhong told reporters after a meeting in Jakarta with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

The Indonesians are trying to broker a ceasefire and the deployment of neutral military observers to the flashpoint area on the Thai-Cambodia border where some 18 people have died in fighting in recent months.

The issue is likely to be discussed at a summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders in Jakarta starting on Saturday.

Both countries have accused each other of sparking the violence, which centres on territory surrounding the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, the most celebrated example of ancient Khmer architecture outside Cambodia's Angkor.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6 square kilometre (1.8 square mile) surrounding area.

The temple was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.

Cambodia has previously denied it has troops stationed at Preah Vihear itself, although it has soldiers in the contested area.

The neighbours agreed in late February to allow Indonesian observers near Preah Vihear, but Thailand has been dragging its heals on their deployment as fighting continues.

"The problem is the willingness of Thailand to accept the observers or not, that is the real problem," Hor Namhong said.

Indonesia holds the current chair of ASEAN and has been trying to use its position to broker an end to the hostilities, which are undermining ASEAN's ambitions to create a closely integrated community by 2015.

Natalegawa said Cambodia had agreed to the terms of the observer mission but Thailand was insisting on the withdrawal of Cambodia's troops from the temple.

"We're ready (to send observers) but Thailand is saying that before the deployment of observers can be made, they require the redeployment of Cambodian troops out of the temple," he said.

"This issue is not governed in the terms of reference. It's outside the terms of reference proper. This is where we are now."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a ceasefire and said the neighbours should launch "serious dialogue" to resolve the dispute, which temporarily displaced about 85,000 people.

- AFP/cc

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Thailand pulls out of planned talks with Cambodia [-Peace talk driven by Khmer newspapers rumors? Bangkok must be kidding!]

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
AFP

BANGKOK — Thailand's defence minister has cancelled his planned trip to Cambodia Wednesday for talks on a border ceasefire, an army spokesman said, in a setback to efforts to end the deadly fighting.

"We decided last night to cancel General Prawit (Wongsuwon's) trip to Phnom Penh today after some Cambodia media reported Thailand agreed to ceasefire talks after it admitted defeat and losses," said Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd.

Eight Cambodian and five Thai troops have died in five days of heavy weapons fire on the two countries' disputed jungle frontier, prompting growing diplomatic pressure on the neighbours to end the conflict.

Both sides have accused each other of starting the clashes.

"We welcome talks on the condition that they stop firing first for a few days. We clearly informed Cambodia of this condition," Sunsern said.

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Thai-Cambodian border fighting leaves 10 dead

The two countries exchanged heavy weapons fire for a second straight day on their disputed jungle frontier, the scene of a series of deadly gunbattles in recent years.

Apr 23, 2011

AFP

SAMRONG: Fierce clashes on the Thai-Cambodia border have left 10 dead and forced thousands to flee the worst bloodshed since a UN ceasefire appeal in February, officials said on Saturday.

The two countries exchanged heavy weapons fire for a second straight day on their disputed jungle frontier, the scene of a series of deadly gunbattles in recent years.

Three Cambodian troops and one Thai soldier were killed on Saturday, according to officials in the two countries, a day after three soldiers died on each side.

Cambodia accused Thailand of using 75mm and 105mm "heavy guns loaded with poisonous gas" and said in a defence ministry statement that Thai military aircraft flew "deep into Cambodia's airspace".

Thailand denied the claims, which could not be independently verified.

A Cambodian field commander, Suos Sothea, said the gas caused some soldiers who inhaled it to feel weak but did not cause serious injury. He also accused Thailand of using cluster bombs.

Thailand recently admitted using controversial Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions during the February fighting but insisted it did not classify them as cluster munitions.

Thousands of villagers been have evacuated from nearby areas on both sides since the latest violence broke out.

"Most of the people in my village have fled their homes because many Thai artillery shells landed nearby," 29-year-old farmer Has Pov told AFP at a pagoda complex where he took refugee with his wife and two children in the Cambodian town of Samrong about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the fighting.

"I'm really scared by the shelling," he added.

Villages close to the Cambodian side of the border were emptied as people fled with their belongings.

An AFP photographer saw a house apparently damaged by shelling in a Cambodian village more than 10 kilometres from the area where the main fighting occurred.

As usual, the two countries accused each other of starting the clashes.

"All of sudden they fired at us," Thai defence minister General Prawit Wongsuwon told AFP.

"It could be that they wanted to internationalise the situation to attract a third country (to intervene). We do not want to fight but have to retaliate when they fire at us," he said, calling for the resumption of bilateral talks to resolve the territorial dispute.

"We have to put pressure on them to go back to the meeting table," he said.

It is the first serious outbreak of hostilities since February when 10 people were killed in clashes near the 900-year-old Hindu temple Preah Vihear, prompting UN Security Council members to call for a lasting ceasefire.

Phnom Penh has called for outside mediation to help end the standoff, but Thailand opposes third-party intervention.

The two countries agreed in late February to allow Indonesian observers in the area near Preah Vihear, but the Thai military has since said they are not welcome and they have yet to be deployed.

The latest clashes, which saw several hours of fighting on both Friday and Saturday, have taken place near a different group of temples over 100 kilometres away from Preah Vihear.

Indonesia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) regional bloc, has called for an immediate end to the violence. Vietnam urged "maximum restraint".

Ties between the neighbours have been strained since Preah Vihear -- the most celebrated example of ancient Khmer architecture outside Cambodia's Angkor -- was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6 square kilometre (1.8 square mile) surrounding area.

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6 soldiers killed in Thailand-Cambodia border clash

Thai soldiers and hospital workers evacuate an injured soldier after he was shot in an exchange of gunfire with Cambodian troops in Surin province near the Thai-Cambodian border. (AFP/Getty Images / April 22, 2011)

Thailand and Cambodia blame each other for the latest in a series of conflicts involving a contested temple. Officers of the two militaries meet to calm the situation after the deaths of three soldiers from each side.

April 22, 2011

By Simon Roughneen

Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand— Six soldiers were killed Friday, three from each side, in a dawn shootout between Thai and Cambodian troops along their nations' tense border, officials from both sides said.

The clash was the latest in a series of conflicts involving a contested temple and centuries of distrust.

Officers from the two militaries sat down Friday evening in a bid to ensure that the return of calm late in the day would continue. "The situation is now under control," said Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn, adding that he didn't expect more fighting in the area.

Shelling began about 6 a.m. along the frontier where Thailand's Surin province faces Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia.

Both countries blamed each other for starting the clash. Thai soldiers trespassed into a temple inside Cambodia, Cambodia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement after the shooting. Cambodian soldiers shot first, Thailand countered, which prompted its army to return fire.

"We did not engage in any unusual movements in the area," Panitan said.

Local residents fled after the shooting started. The welfare of civilians on both sides of the border should take precedence over the political agendas of the two nations, said Emma Leslie of the Phnom Penh-based Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, an activist group.

Friday's clash was the first since early February, when at least 10 people were killed near a centuries-old Hindu temple called Preah Vihear, in an area that has been tense for decades.

Thailand and Cambodia have fought several wars over the centuries for regional clout.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that Preah Vihear was located inside Cambodia. The religious complex was built by the same Khmer Empire that constructed Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure, located in northwestern Cambodia.

Thai nationalists dispute that decision, however, and tensions worsened after the site was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 2008.

During the February fighting, Thailand was accused of using cluster bombs, which are banned by over 100 countries because of the risk they pose to civilians when the tiny bombs initially fail to explode.

Both countries are members of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. The organization is currently headed by Indonesia, whose foreign minister, Marty Natelagawa, has tried to mediate between the two countries. Thailand has resisted Indonesia's offer to send monitors to the border region.

Natelagawa called on both sides Friday to resolve their differences through dialogue. "The use of force has no place in relations among ASEAN member countries," he said.

Roughneen is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Mark Magnier contributed to this report.

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Indonesia optimistic over Cambodia-Thailand truce

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa talks to journalist during Thailand- Cambodia Joint Commission on The Demarcation Land Boundary (JBC) meeting at the State Palace in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Thursday, April 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Apr 07, 2011

BOGOR, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia has expressed optimism that diplomacy is back on track for Cambodia and Thailand to resolve a border dispute that has sparked deadly military clashes.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Thursday that a Joint Border Committee meeting had made progress on the issue of observers for disputed border.

He said he has informed his Thai counterpart in Bangkok about the progress.


Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong led his country's delegation to the meeting in the West Java town. Thailand's delegation was led by a foreign ministry adviser.

Indonesia brokered an agreement in February under which military observers will be sent to enforce a cease-fire after clashes over disputed land surrounding an 11th century temple killed at least eight.

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Indonesia not wanted, Prayuth insists [-Which part of the word "OBSERVER" does Praytuh not understand?]

24/03/2011
Wassana Nanuam & AFP
Bangkok Post

Observers from Indonesia are not needed to solve the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha insists.

Thai military leaders have also proposed that Thailand and Cambodia set up joint checkpoints to secure the disputed area.

"A third country or any other country must not get involved. Thailand and Cambodia can talk.

He repeated the stance taken by Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and armed forces chiefs. They want the Foreign Ministry to tell Cambodia they do not want any observers from Indonesia, the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), to get involved in bilateral border issues.

"I do not reject observers but I do not think they are necessary because we can solve the problem ourselves.

"If observers finally come, I will keep them on the outside.

"Why should they enter the strategic area? That is dangerous. If observers are there, can they prevent Cambodia from violating the 2000 MoU?

This is the point," Gen Prayuth said, referring to the Thai-Cambodian memorandum of understanding on bilateral demarcation.

Indonesia proposed a compromise solution on Feb 22 to try to solve the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia by sending 15 of its observers to each side of the border near the Preah Vihear temple.

The army chief also insisted that the next meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) would happen in a bilateral manner. He said it was the turn of Cambodia to organise the GBC but if Cambodia was not ready to host it, Thailand could do so.

Meanwhile, the world heritage body Unesco is sending an urgent mission to examine Preah Vihear temple after it was damaged in border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia.

"I intend to send a mission to the area as soon as possible," Unesco's head Irina Bokova said on Tuesday.

Ms Bokova called for "calm and restraint" around the Preah Vihear temple, which suffered damage during recent fighting.

"World Heritage sites are the heritage of all humanity and the international community has a special responsibility to safeguard them," she said.

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Indonesia awaits approval on Thai-Cambodia mission

A view of the Preah Vihear temple on the disputed Cambodian-Thai border

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

Posted: 24 March 2011

JAKARTA: Indonesia said Thursday that an ASEAN plan to send Indonesian military observers to the disputed Thai-Cambodia border had stalled as it awaited approvals from Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

At a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta last month, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to accept Indonesian observers to a flashpoint section of the border where heavy fighting erupted in February.

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan hailed the agreement as a "historic day" for the 10-nation block, but more than a month later the observer teams remain in Jakarta and Thailand's military now says they are not needed.

"We're still waiting for further approvals from both countries before we can proceed to go to the area," Indonesian foreign ministry spokeswoman Kusuma Habir told AFP.

The observers had not received their operating orders and did not even know where they would be posted or for how long, she added.

"We hope that we will receive their approvals as soon as possible," Habir said.

Thailand's army chief, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, said Wednesday the observers were not wanted in the disputed area near an 11th-century temple because it was too dangerous and they would only complicate matters.

Prayut said the Thai defence ministry, armed forces and military commanders rejected the idea of outside monitors, but conceded it was up to the government to decide.

A Thai government spokesman denied however that there had been any change in Bangkok's position, and said a joint border committee would be convened to iron out the details of the observers' mission.

Thailand and Cambodia have each accused the other of starting the border clashes, which erupted around the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

-AFP/ac

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Fuel Smuggling Grips Region

AFP

A motorcyclist passes a line of vehicles waiting to fill their gas tanks in Rangoon, Feb. 22, 2011.

http://www.rfa.org/

via CAAI

2011-03-23

A gasoline and diesel black market thrives in Burma, while an illicit border fuel trade haunts Vietnam and Cambodia.

People in Burma are grappling with a serious fuel shortage on the back of surging gasoline and diesel prices, but the commodity is being smuggled into China for higher prices there.

Compounding the problem is a black market for fuel in Burma itself, with residents having to wait for hours and dig deeper into their pockets to pay for daily supplies.

The higher fuel prices have sent food costs soaring, hurting average consumers in this impoverished military-ruled nation.

"Diesel is being smuggled out to China from Burma, because the oil price in China is going up. Three months ago, gasoline was smuggled to China, but it is diesel now," said a resident from Muse, a Burmese town along the porous border with China.

He said that only people "who have connections to the authorities" can transport the fuel across the border, suggesting corruption is driving the illicit trade.

Fuel is a sensitive issue in Burma. In 2007, when gas prices soared, monks took to the streets of Rangoon to protest in what became known as the "Saffron" revolution, drawing thousands of people. The revolt was put down by security forces who killed at least 31 people and beat and detained hundreds.

Burma's neighbors are also reeling from higher fuel prices that have led to smuggling amid concerns that sweeping unrest in the Middle East and Africa will limit oil production and send oil prices even higher. Some countries provide subsidies to cushion costs.

Queue up

A truck filled with gas tanks passes a roadside gasoline stand in Rangoon, Feb. 22, 2011.

In the former capital Rangoon, the country's key commercial center, motor vehicles often have to queue up for miles overnight to get gasoline.

"You have to be in line for at least three hours to get gasoline from the gas station. Because of the gas price hike, all commodities prices are skyrocketing," a Rangoon resident said.

A street vendor selling fried rice said, "I sell fried rice for 300 kyat (about 30 cents) per plate. Trishaw [motorized three-wheeled cab] drivers told me they can't buy my food anymore, as they can't afford it."

A resident in Mandalay, Burma's second-largest city, said gasoline prices shot up from 4,000 kyat to 4,800 kyat (U.S. $4.00 to U.S. $5.00) within a week. Street vendors who buy and sell gasoline are being pursued by police."

A resident from Maubin in the rice-growing Irrawaddy division said that gas stations open at around 8 a.m.

Half an hour later, he said, prices rise far above official levels.

"We have to pay street price after 8:30 a.m. All gas stations in Maubin are owned by Ayeyar Shwewah company, a company run by two sons of Shwe Mann, who is a current Parliamentary chairman, so nobody dares to complain."

Vietnam, Cambodia

Map showing fuel smuggling routes.

In Vietnam, fuel is siphoned off and smuggled across the border to Cambodia to cash in on the higher prices, while gasoline smuggling from Thailand to Cambodia is also common.

A Vietnamese man calling himself Chi, who has long done business in Cambodia, said gas smuggling is a "daily business" in Cambodia.

"They smuggle gas to Cambodia via sea, then on land. That is for big business. But for small shipments, people smuggle over the land border, so much that we don’t know how much gas is smuggled to Cambodia every day."

Xaymun, a Cambodian woman, said gas prices jumped recently.

“I have heard that gas is brought here from Vietnam. I heard that the authorities could catch the smugglers, but then they get bribed and they let the smugglers go.”

Operating hours

Vietnamese authorities plan to limit the operating hours of filling stations along the border to only 12 hours beginning from 6 a.m. to combat smuggling.

Vehicles traveling from Vietnam to Cambodia will be allowed to buy enough fuel to travel only 50 to 100 kilometers (31 to 62 miles) under the plan, according to the VietNamNet Newspaper report.

Reported by the RFA Burmese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese services. Translation by Khin May Zaw, Viet Ha, and Sum Sok Ry. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

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Thai army chief vows to stay out of election

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/

via CAAI

2011-03-22

AFP

BANGKOK: Thailand's powerful army chief on Tuesday vowed not to meddle in the kingdom's elections and stressed his neutrality following coup rumours and increased street protests this year.

General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who is considered a key ally of the ruling Democrat party, said the army would help "steer our country back to democracy" and would abide by the results of a poll due in June or July.

"It is up to the people to decide which party will form a government. Whichever it is I am still the army chief," he told reporters.

Prayut insisted that the vote would be the best way to end years of political turbulence in the country, echoing comments by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday.

Coup rumours were stoked by the opposition earlier this year following fresh protests by the nationalist and royalist "Yellow Shirt" movement and violent border clashes between Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia.

The military has often become involved in politics in Thailand, which has seen 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932, but both the army and government have denied an impending intervention.

"We will be neutral in the election because we cannot control anyone. The army must comply with election law and all troops can cast votes in their respective constituencies without pressure from the military," Prayut said.

He said the army could be involved in election security, in a sign that the politically divided nation, still recovering from deadly street protests last year in which over 90 people died, could see friction during the poll.

"I have instructed all army unit leaders to be prepared for the election and supply manpower to ensure security at polling stations," he said.

The Thai government on Tuesday cited "threats by some ill-intentioned people" after it agreed to extend special powers across seven districts of Bangkok until April 24 under the Internal Security Act.

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