Foreign Minister gives phone-in interview on UNSC meeting regarding Thai-Cambodian situation
On 15 February 2011, at 10.00 hrs, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya gave a phone-in interview to the media from New York on the outcome of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on 14 February 2011, which addressed the recent border incidents between Thailand and Cambodia. Gist as follows:
1. The Foreign Minister explained the background of his participation in the said UNSC meeting, which followed Cambodia’s submission of a letter addressed to the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, in her capacity as the President of the UNSC for the month of February. Cambodia had requested the United Nations to intervene in the matter between Thailand and Cambodia, claiming that bilateral negotiations between two countries had failed and that Cambodia was under attack by a more powerful state.
2. The Foreign Minister briefed the media on the outcome of the UNSC meeting on 14 February 2011, saying that the meeting began with a background report on Thai-Cambodian relations by Mr. B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs, followed by the statements by Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, respectively. Then, the floor was open for the UNSC member countries for discussion. All UNSC member countries shared the view that bilateral mechanisms between Thailand and Cambodia remain necessary and must therefore continue so that both countries could complete the process of survey and demarcation of their boundary. They also called on the two countries to establish a permanent ceasefire. They viewed that negotiations must be supported by Indonesia as the ASEAN chair. The outcome of this meeting showed that Cambodia’s objective of getting the UN involved, especially calling for the dispatch of a UN observer mission to the Thai-Cambodian border, was not achieved. On the contrary, the UN has requested that Cambodia return to bilateral negotiations with Thailand.
3. The Foreign Minister also informed the UNSC meeting that the negotiation process between Thailand and Cambodia was still on-going through mechanisms such as the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission for Demarcation of Land Boundary (JBC), the General Border Committee (GBC) between two Ministers of Defence, and the Regional Border Committee (RBC) between Commanding General of the Second Army Region of Thailand and the Fourth Army Commander of Cambodia. On Thailand’s part, it has always demonstrated its readiness to negotiate with Cambodia. For instance, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has extended an invitation to Cambodia to attend a meeting of the JBC on 27 February 2011 in Thailand. Furthermore, General Prawit Wongsuwan, Minister of Defence, has also confirmed that his Ministry was ready to hold talks with Cambodia at the earliest opportunity. When these mechanisms could meet therefore depended upon whether Cambodia would have the political will and how it would respond to the outcome of the UNSC meeting. The Foreign Minister had sought a meeting with Mr. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Cambodia, in New York on 15 February 2011 (New York time) to discuss on ways and means to further bilateral negotiations. At this juncture, the Cambodian side has yet to accept this proposal.
4. In response to the question by the media whether villagers living along the Thai-Cambodian border could be more confident about their safety after the diplomatic talks had already been held, the Foreign Minister said that Cambodia realizes that both countries now have an obligation to establish a permanent ceasefire. Thailand does not have any problem on the implementation of the ceasefire as Thailand has always reiterated that it was not the first to shoot and has not targeted civilians. However, this matter also depends on Cambodia.
To the question whether the outcome of the UNSC meeting would be binding on other international organizations such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Foreign Minister replied that following the outcome of the meeting, there would have to be further negotiation between Thailand and Cambodia. The UNSC did not forward the matter to the ICJ. Nevertheless, should Cambodia wish to present is case to the ICJ, it could do so, and Thailand would be ready to deal with that. Nevertheless, he believed that at this point, bilateral negotiations could still move forward.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th