By Michael Vatikiotis
Asia Security Initiative News & Blog (Mac Arthur Foundation)
It doesn’t take long for a visitor to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to hear about the country’s problems with Thailand. Almost anyone you speak to has a view, mainly centered on Thailand’s alleged provocative actions over a disputed boundary that intersects a 12th century Buddhist temple.
The dispute was formally resolved more than forty years ago when the International Court of Justice awarded sovereignty of the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia. The dispute erupted again two years ago when Cambodia applied to UNESCO to have the temple declared a world heritage site. Thailand initially supported the bid. But opposition politicians in Bangkok’s highly polarized political climate protested that the temple’s world heritage status would mean encroaching on Thai territory, forcing the Thai government to withdraw support for Cambodia’s UNESCO bid. This led in 2008 to an escalation of military tensions along the border and the outbreak of some fighting, quickly quelled by local commanders.
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