5 days ago
Stepping back from chaos
Ta Muen Thom temple, situated in an overlapping area of Thailand and Cambodia, has emerged as another conflict hotspot between the neighbouring countries, fuelled by angry scrapping at the border by locals from both sides.
On Monday, Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, 2nd region army commander, threatened to close the Surin-based temple for at least seven days if tensions in the area keep rising. While it remains unclear if the planned closure will also include the Cambodian side, this cannot be good.
Ta Muen Thom, as well as the nearby Ta Kwai, are the centre of competing territorial claims after Cambodia included the temple in a petition to be filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), following a border clash at Chong Bok in Ubon Ratchathani late in May.
Since then, locals from both sides have headed to the temple to flaunt their claims and face down the other side. The number of visitors has increased lately, particularly after nearly two dozen buses from Phnom Penh turned up over the weekend. The Thai side has reciprocated with locals turning up to taunt the other side.
There are reports some Thai influencers will turn up at the end of this week. The rivalry on social media is intense, as netizens exchange curses and press their claims.
Given its strategic location, Ta Muen Thom temple is under the army's jurisdiction. Yet suspended PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra's phone conversation with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen has thrown the border into sharp relief after details were linked to the media in which she appeared keen to appease Hun Sen, also a family friend.
Ms Paetongtarn was suspended from the top job by the charter court but has yet to show political responsibility for putting the country, including the army, in such a difficult situation.
The mistake has also exposed Pheu Thai Party's poor leadership on the Cambodia issue. It has been playing second fiddle while the army takes the lead.
The military alone may not be able to get relations back on a stable footing, as suppressing any confrontations at the border is likely to have repercussions. It's time those involved started thinking about diplomacy, allowing it to work to ease tension, and getting the two countries to the negotiation table.
This, of course, requires cooperation and goodwill from Cambodia which may not be easy to obtain.
Hun Sen's family has been successful in playing the nationalist card against Thailand as the Vietnam issue -- Cambodians' anger over an alleged land grab by Hanoi which haunts Hun Sen and his son -- has effectively disappeared. They have also drawn the spotlight away from Sam Rainsy, the opposition leader in exile.
At the same time, tight media control has resulted in huge popularity for Hun Sen and his son's government as mainstream media channels play along, portraying Thailand as the enemy, sometimes through disinformation, if not blunt distortion.
However, the Hun family needs to rethink whether such tactics are justified given the potential long-term damage to the relationship.
Restoring damaged ties between the neighbours will not be easy, given the competing claims over the ancient temple and the recent landmine explosion at Chong Bok.
