Thai Army warns loose talk will hit temple bid

Prawit 'misquoted' on ICJ troop order remark

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has called on all sides to stop giving their opinions on the Preah Vihear temple issue as it might put the country at a disadvantage.

 

Gen Prayuth said it was risky to talk about the issue at the moment as the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) proceedings should be allowed to take their course.

 

"Whatever the outcome, the Foreign Ministry and the government have measures to deal with it. But if we rush to act or say anything, we could be at a disadvantage," he said.

 

However, Gen Prayuth gave assurances that the army, the Defence Ministry and other security agencies would continue to do the best they could to protect the country's sovereignty.

 

He said there were political, diplomatic and military measures to solve the problem if the ICJ decided to grant an injunction to Cambodia and order Thai troops to withdraw from the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area surrounding Preah Vihear.

 

Gen Prayuth said the military measure, or the use of force, would be the last resort as Thailand and Cambodia were still neighbours.

 

However, he said Thai troops would not tolerate any violation of the country's sovereignty.

 

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon denied saying the ICJ had no authority to order Thai troops to withdraw from the disputed area surrounding the ancient Hindu temple.

 

Gen Prawit said Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong had filed a complaint with the ICJ accusing Thailand of not accepting the court's authority by refusing to withdraw troops from the disputed area.

 

"I never said that the ICJ has no authority to order Thai troops to withdraw. I did not say that I did not accept the ICJ's authority. This was an interpretation by reporters," Gen Prawit said.

 

"But I said that if the ICJ orders us to withdraw, I still could not do so, because the area also belongs to Thailand. If it wants us to withdraw, Cambodia has to withdraw too.

 

"The Thai army's position is that we have to maintain military forces in the area that belongs to us. That's all I can say," Gen Prawit said.

 

He said he had been trying to contact Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh to discuss arrangements for the General Border Committee meeting after Cambodian Deputy Defence Minister Neang Phat said the GBC meeting would take place only after Thailand signed a terms of reference.

Gen Prawit said he had left it to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to consider whether or not to sign the terms of reference.

 

"But for the military's part, our survey team is ready," he said.

 

"I don't know what is happening with Cambodia. We have already talked about this matter in Indonesia, however now they [Cambodia] have changed," Gen Prawit added.

Bangkok Post