Thailand purposely inciting a war to secure through military means what it cannot realise through legal means in a court of law

Thailand purposely inciting a war to secure through military means what it cannot realise through legal means in a court of law

-Opinion-
International law has spoken for some, if not most, of the border areas that Thailand disputes with Cambodia and it is these areas that have suffered attacks and illegal encroachments. Even after the peace process was put into place, disturbing military manoeuvres and actions which are dangerously close to egregious violations of Cambodia’s sovereignty have taken place.

Whereas ASEAN and the US can look on Thailand’s actions as a temporary, isolated and even limited outbreak of a long simmering tension between the countries, there is another possibility that is appearing increasingly likely, which is that this squabble is anything but these things.

I fear we are entering a new and more dangerous situation, where the optimism of an incremental pathway to peace will evaporate and we will be facing an incremental pathway toward a conflict that will have no winners or losers — but victims on both sides and enormously costly consequences for not only the Cambodian and Thai peoples, but all countries in the region and the world.

Youk Chhang is director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). The views and opinions expressed are his own.
-The Phnom Penh Post-