Laos first stop as P Penh goes complaining

A small story sometimes has big implications. What is happening between Cambodia and Laos nicely fits this definition.

Cambodian Deputy Foreign Minister Long Visalo went to Vientiane last Tuesday. His mission to the northern neighbour was clear. The Cambodian government wanted to brief Laos about its dispute with Thailand.

In the Laotian capital, Long Visalo lectured some 200 Lao Foreign Ministry officials on the history of Preah Vihear, the ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1962 that the Hindu temple belonged to his country, as well as Cambodia's right to list it as a World Heritage Site under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in July 2008.

The Cambodian deputy minister also told his hosts about the border dispute between his country and Thailand, which started after the latter country made a U-turn on its previous stance which had been in support of Cambodia's attempt to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site.

The Cambodian campaign cannot be seen as anything but the start of its efforts to drum up backing from other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to help sort out the border conflict with Thailand for good.

And Laos will not be the only stop in this tactic. On the list, of course, are Burma and Vietnam (the latter is scheduled to take the Asean chair till December).

Phnom Penh's strategy is to turn the dispute over the overlapping land boundary of 4.6 square kilometres into a regional issue by trying to bring in the involvement of other Asean members.

Thailand thinks otherwise, with its intention to keep the matter as a quarrel between two neighbours which should be settled by the two neighbours only.

Preah Vihear site set for restoration

Phnom Penh Post:

CONSERVATORS are at work restoring Preah Vihear temple and are set to plant about 2,000 hectares of forest in the surrounding area, officials said Thursday.

The 11th-century temple complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July of last year, has long been a source of tension between the Kingdom and Thailand, which disputes Cambodia’s ownership of land around the site. At least seven soldiers have been killed in border skirmishes near the temple since July 2008.

However, the recent tension has not stalled preservation efforts at the temple, according to Chuch Phoeurn, the chairman of the National Preah Vihear Authority (NPVA).

“The process of preserving Preah Vihear temple is unrelated to the border issues – we’re still continuing our work,” he said.