EDITORIAL
The claim by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that his country may be on the verge of a military confrontation with Thailand is unwelcome. There is a lot of evidence that the threat of violence is vastly overplayed.
Still, extraordinary steps may be necessary to ensure that decades of peaceful co-existence along a sometimes disputed frontier can continue. Territorial claims, especially around temples near the border, must be dealt with seriously. A battle or war between Thailand and Cambodia is unthinkable, both because of the disaster it would bring and because it is entirely preventable.
It is worth remembering that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was scheduled to begin the traditional tour by new government leaders of Asean with a visit to Phnom Penh on Monday. Correctly, Mr Somchai stayed home to attend to more pressing business. But such introductory meetings are often useful. Presuming officials steer their respective countries peacefully through the next few days, they also should discuss a personal meeting between the two prime ministers - if not in Phnom Penh as custom dictates, then perhaps at a neutral place, or even in Thailand.
Whatever the diplomatic moves in coming days, everyone in both countries must consider their words and actions with double care. A violent border flare-up is not in the interests of either country, and an actual military confrontation is unthinkable. Honest leaders can turn the border disagreement to the advantage of both countries, rather than the ruin of both.
Re-creating the peaceful Thai-Cambodian frontier for now seems to require two steps. The first is to remove the possibility of an accidental war between tense troops along a frontier that both sides consider to be poorly marked and often overgrown with jungle. Details need to be urgently considered and invoked by the joint border committee responsible for peace in the area. It seems prudent that an actual pullback by soldiers of both sides should take place, perhaps even for a few hundred metres. It should not be difficult to establish a temporary non-militarised buffer zone between Thai and Khmer forces where they are currently in close contact.
The second step must be by the leaders of both countries. The easy way on both sides is to accuse the other country of bad faith, lies and ill intentions. Such talk has little value, since it only inflames the hotheads at home, and their counterparts abroad. It must be said that Mr Hun Sen has created opportunities lately to criticise Thailand on a number of issues, as well as making charges that Thai troops harbour ill intentions towards his country.
PM Hun Sen and PM Somchai need to be especially professional and watch their words in public. A casual, careless or even misinterpreted comment by either man can easily make a tense situation worse, and turn confrontation into a battle or a war. It would be helpful if Mr Hun Sen cooled his comments, including what he thinks are the motivations of Thailand. He well knows that the government has serious political and economic concerns, and his ill-considered references to a possible border war could be escalated far out of context by Thai media and battling politicians.
Disputed areas on both the land and sea border must be negotiated to a settlement and not fought over. Cambodia should re-think its opposition to joint use of such areas, perhaps using similar arrangements with Vietnam and Malaysia as models. The correct place to "fight" over the border is at border committee sessions, diplomatic meetings and political summits.
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