Prayut proposes solution to Preah Vihear stalemate
Since the military took power on May 22, Bangkok Post, the English language newspaper based on which I News from Thailand don't make it any nicer. Many reports are about statements made by Prayut Chan-o-cha, the country's current prime minister.
Overexposure, I think, because after all, talk doesn't fill the gaps, and as some expats have already noted, taxi drivers sometimes still refuse rides or won't turn on the meter, and state lottery tickets cost 110 or 120 baht again, despite what Prayut has said. But the newspaper does not write that.
Also today, the newspaper opens with statements by the prime minister on the eve of his two-day visit to Cambodia. He wants to discuss with his counterpart Hun Sen the possibility of jointly developing the controversial Preah Vihaer temple, just across the border with the neighboring country, as a tourist destination, an idea that has already been put forward several times by others.
This could put an end to the squabble over ownership of a 4,6-square-kilometer area near the temple, which is disputed by both countries. The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled on this in November last year at the request of Cambodia, but since then the case has come to a standstill.
Other border issues, such as in the Gulf of Thailand, where a capital of gas and oil lies under the seabed, are not on the agenda. After all, it should be a pleasant visit. Those subjects are the job of the border commission of both countries.
The two heads of government will discuss economic cooperation, regional security issues, human trafficking and a railway connection. A so-called Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), something like a gentlemen's agreement, is concluded on the latter two subjects.
The former Thaksin government concluded an MoU about the borders in the Gulf of Thailand in 2001, but this was later withdrawn by the Abhisit government after Thaksin, now in voluntary exile, became economic adviser to Cambodia. That MoU did not offer much, incidentally, because it only indicated the preconditions for negotiations.
(Source: Bangkok Post, October 30, 2014)
If that Court had now had the courage to draw a line with a ruler and pencil, it would have been solved, but no, they spared the cabbage and the goat and placed the problem with both countries again.
Joint exploitation is the best option for the neighboring country because it does not have to build an expensive road to that hilltop; for that is all it is: a temple on the top of a hill. Joint exploitation can boost the local business and those who visit the temple will certainly take a piece of both countries with them and then the cash register will ring on both sides of the border.
However, I fear that the lack of a line will complicate matters again.
Does anyone know if the temple can be visited at the moment?
It's still on my to-go list.
it's just a long way to end up in front of a closed door.
Hank.
@ Henk Korat Only from Cambodia, not from Thailand.