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Cambodia threatened Monday to ban imports of Thai fruit and vegetables within 24 hours as a border dispute deepened after bilateral talks at the weekend failed to breach the impasse between the Southeast Asian neighbors.
On Sunday, Cambodia formally requested the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, resolve claims over four areas of the disputed 800-kilometer (500-mile) Thai-Cambodia border. Thailand reiterated Monday that it rejects the compulsory jurisdiction of the court.
The developments pointed to prolonged tensions over a territorial spat that stirs nationalist passions on both sides. Thai forces shot dead a Cambodian soldier on May 28 after they said Cambodian forces dug a trench on the Thai side of the border.
The two governments held talks in Phnom Penh on Saturday and Sunday under the aegis of a Joint Border Commission. Another round of talks was set for September.
The Thai Foreign Ministry said Monday that it “expressed deep disappointment regarding Cambodia’s continued refusal to address bilateral disputes” over the four border areas that Cambodia wants the ICJ to rule on.
Thailand, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant laborers, has irked Cambodia by imposing restrictions on opening hours at border crossings since last month’s border clash. Cambodia has responded by closing one crossing point, cutting Thai internet services and stopping broadcasts of Thai movies and TV.
In parliament on Monday, former prime minister Hun Sen upped the ante, saying the Thai military has 24 hours to reopen the border from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. or Cambodia would close all crossing points from Tuesday to prevent Thailand from exporting vegetables and fruits.
Hun Sen, who is Senate president, said that the current border conflict will not be easily resolved. He called on Cambodian students and workers to return from Thailand.
Prime Minister Hun Manet ordered Cambodian authorities to facilitate the return of workers to Cambodia and help transport them to their hometowns.
The border dispute has historical roots and the two sides differ over which maps to use in demarcating territory. The last time there was a serious and bloody flare-up in tensions was between 2008 and 2011, over a disputed 11th century temple at Preah Vihear. The ICJ has granted sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia.
Cambodia is now calling for The Hague-based court to rule on the demarcation of the border at four other spots: three ancient Khmer temples - Ta Moan Thom, Ta Moan Toch and Ta Krabei - and at an area near to where the May 28 shootout happened where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet.
Thailand reiterated Monday that it doesn’t want the court to intervene.
“Thailand is of the view that recourse to a third party may not always be conducive to the preservation of amicable relations among States, particularly in sensitive matters involving complex historical, territorial, or political dimensions,” it said in response to Cambodia’s ICJ filing.
Edited by Mat Pennington.
