Preah Vihear sits on a disputed patch of land bordering Thailand and Cambodia. At first glance, there’s not much here worth fighting over – a beautiful ruin of a temple and little else of value.
But possession of Preah Vihear is a matter of national pride, contested by two ancient Asian monarchies.
A centuries-old rivalry erupted again in July 2008, as UNESCO recognized Preah Vihear’s World Heritage status in Cambodia’s name. Thai nationalists immediately decried the move, claiming Thai ownership of the temple site and inciting a diplomatic incident.
More than 1,000 Cambodian and Thai troops ended up occupying the area, both sides threatening violence until diplomats from both sides agreed to a de-escalation of forces in August the same year.
Since de-escalation in 2008, the Preah Vihear issue has been left to the diplomats, with one notable bit of news occurring in 2010 when the Cambodian government complained that Google Maps presented the wrong border coordinates for the area.
The conflict heated up again in February 2011, when two Thais and three Cambodians were killed in an exchange of artillery fire between the Thai and Cambodian soldiers stationed near the temple.
Latest Developments
War once again threatened to erupt in February 2011, as Thai and Cambodian forces opened fire on each other in the vicinity of Preah Vihear. Artillery fire killed at least five people and damaged part of the Preah Vihear Temple. The latter was attributed by a Cambodian commander to "Thai artillery bombardment".
In his weekly TV show, Thailand's prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called for frictions to "be solved through nonviolent means", but reserved the right to call on the military to preserve Thai gains: "if our sovereignty is violated, we have to protect it ultimately," said Abhisit.
The recent conflict has energized the "yellow shirts" in Bangkok, who oppose Abhisit and are calling for his resignation. Impending elections in Thailand may be aggravating the conflict, as certain sectors in Thai politics are believed to benefit from the troubles in Preah Vihear. Among them are the People's Alliance for Democracy, the umbrella group behind the "Yellow Shirts" ; the Thai Foreign Minister is a former member.
The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, took his case to the U.N. Security Council, urging them to meet immediately to rule on Thailand's "repeated acts of aggression". Abhisit responded by accusing Cambodia of firing at the Thais first - in his words, "Thai soldiers had no choice but to exercise the inherent right of self defense."
Fuss
How has this remote temple ruin become the center of a cross-country controversy? Blame Preah Vihear's unique geography, as well as centuries of rivalry between the disputing countries.
Geography. The temple is located at the top of a 1,500 foot-high cliff. Its isolated location made it a perfect staging ground for the Khmer Rouge, who stayed in the area until 1998. To this day, the area around the temple is littered with rusting artillery pieces and live personnel mines.
Preah Vihear is more easily reached from Thailand - a paved road takes visitors with ease up to the temple site, while the trail on the Dangrek escarpment on the Cambodian side is steep and dangerous.
The area remains thickly forested and infested with mines left over from the Khmer Rouge era - hundreds have died along this trail, temple visitors and war refugees alike.
Nationalism. While there’s little to gain materially in this conflict – apart from the tourist income to be gained from temple visitors – both sides feel they have huge stakes in the matter.
National pride is involved - not a small thing when you’re dealing with two ancient kingdoms with deeply-held grudges!
For instance, many Thais still seethe at the memory of a 1962 World Court ruling that officially recognized Preah Vihear as Cambodian territory, despite a fund-raising effort in which every Thai citizen donated one baht to support Thailand's legal team.
And many Cambodians can't forget how the Thai government helped prolong the wars of the 70s and 80s by supporting the Khmer Rouge against the country's Vietnamese occupiers.
Going back even further, Thailand's rivalry with Cambodia stretches back hundreds of years, dating back to when Thailand was known as Siam, had its capital in Ayutthaya, and contended with the neighboring Khmer Empire.
