Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told the National Assembly yesterday (June 2) the Cambodian government will register a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the formal name for the World Court, to resolve the long-standing issue, reports the Bangkok Post.
“Cambodia would like to state that even if the Thai side does not agree with us in taking this issue to the ICJ, Cambodia will still file a complaint with the ICJ on this issue to end and extinguish this issue once and for all, so as not to create any ambiguity,” the Khmer Times quoted him as saying.
The stance marked a sudden shift in strategy by Phnom Penh.
On Sunday, Hun Manet said Cambodia would propose taking the dispute to the World Court when the two countries meet to resolve the areas left undemarcated by the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).
The JBC is a principal mechanism set up to resolve problems between Thailand and Cambodia.
The Cambodian leader was referring to the areas in Ta Muan Thom, Ta Muan Toch and Ta Kwai, the ancient Khmer ruins near the border in Surin province, and the Emerald Triangle, an area bordering Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province, Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Champassak province in Laos, according to an earlier report by the Khmer Times.
Ta Muan Thom, Ta Muan Toch and Ta Kwai are called Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch and Ta Kro Bei in Cambodia, respectively. The Emerald Triangle is called the Mombei area.
Cambodia has claimed the three old temples are part of its territory in Oddar Meanchey province, but Thailand denied the claim.
Thai and Cambodian soldiers were in a stand-off at Ta Muan Thom in Surin before a brief military clash in a disputed area near Chong Bok, a steep valley in Nam Yuen district of Ubon Ratchathani, last Wednesday morning. Chong Bok is part of the Emerald Triangle.
“I hope both sides could work together to reach a final resolution for these sensitive disputed areas,” the Khmer Times quoted Hun Manet as saying.
Army spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree yesterday opposed the move by the Cambodian government to take the dispute to the court in The Hague, according to several Thai media outlets.
The spokesman said the main issue that needs to be urgently addressed by the two countries is how Thailand and Cambodia can co-exist along the disputed border without coming into conflict.
The Thai and Cambodian governments have pledged to use peaceful means to resolve the border disputes.