Cambodia, Thailand wage tit-for-tat as border rift widens
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
Cambodia on Tuesday blocked imports of Thai vegetables and fruit, and Thailand banned its nationals from working at some casinos inside Cambodia in fresh fallout from a border dispute sparked by a 10-minute firefight last month.
Cambodia's Ministry of Information said that starting at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, authorities along the border with Thailand closed gates to block the import of Thai agricultural products.
Prime Minister Hun Manet declared Tuesday that Cambodia will only allow the Thai imports if the Thai military reopens all border checkpoints and resumes normal operations. He also set that as a condition for discussing reductions in troops numbers at the border.
Tensions and military deployments have spiked since Thai forces shot dead a Cambodian soldier on May 28. Thailand says Cambodian forces dug a trench on the Thai side of the border.
'Thailand must first show genuine goodwill and comply with our basic condition, which is to reopen the border crossings on both sides to the way they were. Only then will we talk about troop matters,' Hun Manet said Tuesday.
Since June 7, Thailand has restricted border openings to 8am to 4pm. Usually they are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thailand's military was planning to propose a reduction in troop deployments along the border during a Thailand-Cambodia Regional Border Committee meeting scheduled for June 27-28. But Deputy Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said Cambodia, which was due to host the meeting, has indefinitely postponed it, The Nation reported.
On Tuesday, the Thai military banned Thais from crossing the border to work at casinos and entertainment venues in Poipet, which lies on the Cambodian side of the main land border crossing point between the two countries, opposite the eastern Thai town of Aranyaprathet.
Casinos are not legal in Thailand, so gambling establishments proliferate near at key border crossings in neighboring countries like Cambodia.
The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that the order took effect on Tuesday at 8 a.m. and is in place until further notice. It is aimed at guaranteeing the safety of Thai people, the report said.
Police Col. Napatrapong Supaporn, immigration police chief in Sa Kaeo province, was quoted as saying that Thais who are still in Poipet should return home for their own safety.
Meanwhile, authorities in the Cambodian border provinces including Pursat and Preah Vihear announced on Facebook that hundreds of families had been evacuated from frontline areas to safer locations.
This week, Cambodia submitted a request for the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule on the demarcation of four locations at the border, including near the scene of last month's clash.
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 International Criminal Court has granted sovereignty over the temple to Cambodia.
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