Thai-Cambodian border dispute complicated by huge profits at stake
The Preah Vihear temple complex is Cambodian, but easy access is controlled by Thailand.
Although intense national pride is key to the standoff between Thailand and Cambodia, it’s not the only factor. The long-disputed land to the north of the Cambodian-owned Preah Vihear temple means that Thailand currently controls easy access to the temple grounds, whereas the route from the Cambodian side is mountainous and difficult for walkers or vehicles. If Cambodia was able to control access from the flat side, she would be able to offer the ancient complex, dating back to the 10th century, to millions of tourists. It would become another Angkor Wat success story from a cash point of view.
A separate territorial dispute lies in the waters separating the two countries in the south. It is well known that there is abundant oil and gas in that part of the Gulf of Thailand, but perched in the middle is disputed sovereignty about the island of Koh Kut. It is the failure of the two countries to reach an accommodation about the island which has, to date, prevented the exploitation of resources beneath the waves. The dual issues are nationalism and potential profits.
The real culprit in the story is the French empire which controlled Cambodia until 1953. French officials made a series of local border agreements with Thailand (then Siam) between 1867 and 1907 sometimes laden with ambiguities. The early 1940s Japanese occupation of Indo China in the second world war also created several more border issues. In 1962, a 9-3 vote at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands ceded Preah Vihear to Cambodia but said there was no cognizance to settle neighboring land issues. It’s not surprising that Cambodia wants the ICJ again to arbitrate the current standoff and equally unsurprising that Thailand wants a face-to-face negotiation without outside interference.
Thailand is suspicious of the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands because of its previous rulings.
Disputes about the location of temples located at border regions has, in the past, led to military action and the deaths of forty soldiers and civilians under gunfire. In 2003 Cambodian nationals torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh after a Thai celebrity reminded everyone that Siem Reap had once belonged to Thailand: it was surrendered in the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1907. In May 2025 a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation and now all Thai border posts with Cambodia are under martial law.
Unless both Thailand and Cambodia are currently prepared to consider joint sovereignty, very unlikely whilst national pride and Indignation rule the waves, there can be no breakthrough news. The best that can happen is that a trusted negotiator such as Malaysian premier Anwar Ibrahim can persuade both sides to back off and return their troops to barracks. The alternative is military action with its many unpredictable consequences.
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