The nation will file a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over border disputes with Thailand, Prime Minister Hun Manet said, after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a recent frontier clash.
“Cambodia hopes that the Thai side will agree with Cambodia to jointly bring these issues to the ICJ... to prevent armed confrontation again over border uncertainty,” Hun Manet said yesterday during a meeting between MPs and senators.
Military clashes between the South-East Asian neighbours erupted in 2008 and have led to several years of sporadic violence, resulting in at least 28 deaths.
The most recent occurred last week, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a location known as the Emerald Triangle – a joint border area between Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.
The day after, Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh demanding “an immediate and thorough investigation” into the “unprovoked attack”.
Describing the incident as “a violation of Cambodian sovereignty”, Phnom Penh said it remained committed to resolving the issue through “peaceful and diplomatic avenues”.
Prime Minister Hun Manet said that even if the Thai side did not agree on bringing the issue to the ICJ, Cambodia would still file the complaint.
He added that the dispute was being “incited by small extremist groups in both countries”, which could lead to further clashes.
Cambodia’s military had said they were attacked first in Wednesday’s incident, while the Thai side said their soldiers were responding to gunshots.
The Thai and Cambodian militaries met the following day, agreeing to ease tensions.
Thailand says a Joint Boundary Committee will meet in the next two weeks to resolve the issue.
Another is Ta Moan Thom Temple, the backdrop for a video posted on social media earlier this year showing a woman singing a patriotic Khmer song which led to Bangkok lodging a formal protest to Phnom Penh.
Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over their more than 800km-long border, which was largely drawn during the French occupation of Indochina.
The 2008 military clashes erupted over a patch of land next to Preah Vihear Temple, a 900-year-old structure near their shared border.
This led to several years of sporadic violence before the ICJ ruled the disputed area belonged to Cambodia. — AFP
