Cambodia and Thailand are eternal neighbors=Using international law to create peaceful borders
Cambodia and Thailand are eternal neighbors=Using international law to create peaceful borders
Tensions on the Cambodian-Thai border have created a toxic atmosphere of ultra-nationalism. With assistance from Google Translate, it’s possible to understand how extremists on both sides express themselves about their neighbors on social media, using Khmer and Thai to mask international censorship of hate speech. One group demanded that the other country be wiped off the world map. The language of hatred and rejection of another nation, as well as the promotion of revision of history or the revival of past imperial glory, dominated their discussions. Some asked “what if” questions, such as “if France weren’t there,” etc. Both sides displayed a condescending attitude, arguing over who should be more superior, more civilized, who has more, and who loses more. Some have accused Cambodia of playing on victim narratives. But who can escape such memories when, throughout its 500-year history, Cambodians have heard nothing but defeats, wars, invasions, and occupations? This has been Cambodia’s position in world history. Cambodia must live with it.
Cambodia has lost more than its history can record: 500 years of chaos, internal disunity, and wars driven by contested borders, survival, and existence. For Cambodians, remembering history means describing the vastness of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from the 9th to the 15th centuries, representing the highest level of civilization in continental Southeast Asia, and the period of decline that followed. These two contradictory periods have shaped the pride and complexion of the Cambodian people. But the Cambodian people also understand that they are living in a modern world and that they must deal with new realities, trying to protect what they currently have and what were left behind from the French protectorate. In fact, every Cambodian feels a sense of love and hate toward France. Love because Cambodians believe that France protected the remaining tiny territory for Cambodia, the tiniest among the continental Southeast Asia. Hate because Cambodians also believe that it was France who carved out some of Cambodian territories to the neighbors. But Cambodian people have to accept this reality. If every country or nation were to seek to revive their past borders, then the whole world would be a mess.
Cambodia has always respected the “uti possidetis juris”, a principle of international law that seeks to respect borders existing at the time of national independence in the settlement of the border disputes between neighboring countries. Faced with the constant eruptions of border tensions, the fundamental question for responsible citizens from both countries is this: How can both countries guarantee a peaceful border for their children and future generations? They cannot resort to endless mutual accusations about territorial grabbing, which lead to incessant revenges and violent bloodsheds. They need to find a lasting solution, which is the law. In any society, law is the enduring foundation of civilized human interaction, beyond emotions, grudges, and bitterness. In society, people must deal with differences, disputes, divisions, divorces, or inheritances. In such cases, it is the law that drives people to rationality, setting judgment independently from personal, emotional conviction.
It is the law that requires people to remain civilised, no matter how serious the disagreement. When resorting to law, it is not a matter of winning or losing, but of accepting the truth by the parties concerned. This enables current and future generations to respect each other in accordance with the law. If a ruling, based on international law, determines that a specific area belongs to Thailand, Cambodia must accept it, and vice versa. Legal issues aside, it is commonly accepted among the Cambodian population that Cambodia often serves as a scapegoat for Thai domestic politics when the latter’s internal rift arises, and that, in such cases, border issues are often exploited.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has also been frustrated with the sluggish progress of border negotiation with Thailand, who insists on using unilateral map, as compared to the negotiations with Laos and Vietnam, in which approximately 86% and 84%, respectively, of the boundary demarcation and marker planting works for the land boundary have been completed. Cambodia and Thailand are eternal neighbors that cannot be changed. Cambodia and Thailand need to think of a lasting solution for their next generations so that both nations can coexist peacefully based on mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual interest, and that the border will become the border of peace, friendship, cooperation and trade. It is time to set the record straight, clear up confusion on both sides, and move forward toward a future of peaceful, predictable, and stable relations. To this end, recourse to international law is probably the most realistic, most lasting and least painful solution, and above all the one that does not involve bloodshed.
Sim Vireak is a Cambodian writer and civil servant. He worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for 15 years before joining the Ministry of Economy and Finance. He has written articles on various topics related to Cambodia’s political economy, development, and foreign affairs. The opinions expressed are his own.
