Villagers in Surin’s communities near the Thai-Cambodian border are building new underground bunkers around their village to prepare for the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) Preah Vihear ruling on November 11.
Provinces adjacent to the border such as Surin and Si Sa Ket, constantly affected by border skirmishes in the past, have braced themselves for any future incidents.
Nationalist groups earlier announced that they would step up their protest against the World Court’s jurisdiction over the territorial dispute on November 9. Members of the groups gathered in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province near the border to reject any possible ruling by the ICJ on the border dispute.
Both governments have reassured their people that the much-awaited verdict on the Preah Vihear temple will not rupture peace between Cambodia and Thailand. The two governments have already agreed to ensure peace, regardless of the verdict.
Thailand and Cambodia have been maintaining good relations despite fierce fighting that broke out along the border in 2011, which left 18 dead. Following the fighting, Cambodia requested that the ICJ clarify its ruling in 1962 that recognized Cambodia’s sovereignty over the 11th-century Hindu temple but failed to specify whom the surrounding area belonged to.
The dispute escalated when Cambodia applied for it to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008. Thailand wanted it to be a joint Thai-Cambodia listing, but eventually withdrew its objection. The decision enraged Thai nationalists and both sides began a build-up of troops in the area.
The Hindu temple was awarded to Cambodia by a 1962 ruling at the International Court of Justice, which both countries accepted at the time. Thailand does not officially claim ownership of the temple as the dispute is over the area surrounding it. Thailand has pointed out that the ICJ ruling did not rule on the border, only on the temple itself.
The geography of the area has rendered demarcation efforts difficult as the temple, which is perched above the Cambodian jungle, has direct transport links to Thai towns and cities, and tourists can visit the temple from Thailand without the need for visas.
In 1904, Siam and the French colonial authorities ruling Cambodia formed a joint commission to demarcate their mutual border. In the vicinity of the temple, the group was tasked by the two governments to work under the principle that the border would follow the watershed line of the Dongrak mountain range, which places nearly all of Preah Vihear temple on Thailand’s side. However, in 1907, after a survey work, the resulting topographic map, which was sent to Siamese authorities and used in the 1962 ICJ ruling, showed the line deviating from the watershed without explanation in the Preah Vihear area, placing all of the temple on the Cambodian side.
At stake on November 11 will be the survival of a unique holy place that is important to the cultural heritage of both nations. Not only does Preah Vihear have the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire but is also seen as an important source of tourist income for Cambodia’s struggling economy.
