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| Southeast Asia |
| Cambodia warns of armed conflict with Thailand |
| 2008-10-14 |
| Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen has warned Thailand to immediately withdraw troops from a disputed border area or risk large-scale armed conflict. He warned visiting Thai foreign minister, Sompong Amornviwat, that without a quick pullout, Thai troops could face armed opposition. Tensions have been high since July when around 1,000 soldiers from both countries took up positions near the 900 year-old Preah Vihear temple. The temple was awarded world heritage status by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who still claim ownership of the site. Mr Hun Sen says Thai troops must withdraw this week. Soon after returning to Bangkok, Mr Sompong announced he will discuss the Cambodian request with the Thai prime minister before taking any action. He says more meetings between the two countries are the best way to solve the stand-off. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 you hit the nail on the head 49 pan |
| Posted by: chris 2008-10-14 21:18 |
| #4 OK, This year there was a bumper crop of Opium in Afghanistan. Each year the warlord generals fight for control over the trafficking of the Opium. This year is nothing different, not politics, not ideology, just drugs. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2008-10-14 20:08 |
| #3 Cambodia may be in the right here but going balistic and threatening armed conflict is just foolish. I don't know the border areas but I suspect they are primarily triple canopy jungles which make it impossible for serious large-scale warfare. That would leave air and sea as the primarily battlefields and I would think Thailand would have a massive advantage in those areas seeing as the Khmer Rouge probably killed nearly every pilot and most boats that could sale left in the 70s. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-10-14 10:20 |
| #2 Cambodia needs Thailand a whole lot more than Thailand needs Cambodia. In a freeze of traffic - goods, services, and tourists - between the two, Thailand would not even notice a deficit - but Cambodia would suffer greatly. One interesting aspect is that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point plays a certain background role. The current Supreme Commander of the Thai Armed Forces, GEN Boonsrang Niumpradit, is a West Point graduate, Class of 1971. Hung Manet, who is a son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hung Sen, is a Colonel in the Cambodian Army - and a 1999 graduate of West Point. COL Hun Manet was a guest of GEN Boonsrang at the 2008 West Point Founders Day dinner held this past March by the West Point Society of Thailand. So - whatever the political leaders of the two countries decide, there is a friendly military "back channel" through which communications can also flow between the two nation's military arms. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2008-10-14 01:44 |
| #1 ION WORLD MILITARY FORUM > IIUC, CHINA + VIETNAM are getting into a brouhaha over territorial encroachment vee the PARACELS + SPRATLEYS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-10-14 00:14 |