Bangkok Post
A Thai legal team has been set up to fight the border case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in response to Cambodia’s petition that the court interpret its judgement of 1962 on Preah Vihear temple to clarify the territorial boundary between Thailand and Cambodia, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday.
The Cambodian Foreign Ministry announced today that it has sought the ICJ’s interpretation of its judgement on Preah Vihear temple, accusing Thailand of repeated aggression in attempts to claim Cambodian territory.
Mr Abhisit said Cambodia’s move is not beyond expectations and a legal team has been set up to fight the case.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said Thailand is waiting for the ICJ to officially notify it of the Cambodian petition.
He said the application made by Cambodia to the ICJ is not unexpected, judging by Cambodia’s acts of agression against Thailand during the past week.
Cambodia wanted to use the border clashes as a reason to bring the territorial issue to the ICJ, Mr Thani said.
“Thailand has been prepared for this. We have studied the issue and hired a team of lawyers to handle it.
“Thailand is of the opinion that resolving the conflict through bilateral talks is the best option, but Cambodia has turned to the ICJ.”
This indicated that Cambodia does not attach much importance to talks under the Asean framework, Mr Thani said.
The spokesman said he expected the ICJ to officially notify Thailand of the Cambodian petition in one or two days.
After receiving the official notification from the ICJ, Thailand will thoroughly study Cambodia’s request.
Mr Thani said that under normal procedure he would expected the ICJ to take about three weeks to decide whether to accept the petition for further proceedings.
If the case were accepted for consideration, the court may take one or two years to go through the related documents, Mr Thani said.
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