Thailand’s military has said it is ready to launch a “high-level operation” to counter violations of its sovereignty, offering its strongest comments yet following the re-eruption of a long-running border dispute with Cambodia.
In a statement on Thursday night, the Thai military said its intelligence had gathered “worrisome” indications that Cambodia has stepped up its military readiness along their shared border.
“The army is now ready for a high-level military operation in case it is necessary to retaliate against the violation of sovereignty,” the statement said.
“Operations of units at the border have been conducted carefully, calmly and based on an understanding of the situation to prevent losses on all sides, but at the same time, are ready to defend the country’s sovereignty to the fullest extent if the situation is called for,” the statement added.
The top brass of Thailand’s armed forces are scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting on Friday afternoon, while the country’s army, navy and air force have also raised their combat readiness, according to the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS).
Colonel Chainarong Kasee, a commander of Thailand’s 12th infantry regiment of the Royal Guards, said his troops have been ordered to check that all equipment is in good working order, Thai PBS also reports.
On May 28, Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said Thai troops shot and killed one of its soldiers during a brief firefight in a disputed border region between Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province.
The ministry accused Thai soldiers of opening fire first on a Cambodian military post in the contested border zone. Thailand’s Minister of Defence Phumtham Wechayachai said Cambodian forces opened fire first.
The Southeast Asian neighbours have repeatedly clashed in Preah Vihear’s border region over the years, where a 900-year-old temple sits at the heart of a decades-long dispute that has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border.
Several deadly clashes took place in the area between 2008 – the year Cambodia registered the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and 2011, killing about 40 people, including five civilians.
A 2013 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld a 1962 judgement by the same body awarding part of the land around Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia and instructing Thailand to withdraw its personnel stationed in the area.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the son of long-ruling former leader Hun Sen, has said Cambodia will file disputes over four parts of the border to the ICJ for adjudication and asked for Thailand’s cooperation in the process.
Thailand, which has not recognised the ICJ’s jurisdiction since 1960, has instead called for bilateral talks.
“Thailand and Cambodia already have existing bilateral mechanisms to address these issues,” Thailand’s government said in a statement.
“Thailand reiterates its position as a neighbour committed to resolving issues peacefully and based on international law, treaties, and agreements … as well as satellite imagery and other verified evidence,” the statement added.
A meeting of the Cambodia-Thailand Joint Boundary Commission – which addresses border demarcation issues – is slated for June 14.
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