CHAPTER II - The Post-Cold War Regional Integration

Summary

After the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee had granted world heritage status to the Preah Vihear temple on 7 July 2008, the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia started to head downhill. A number of reactions are worth noting here. Firstly, on 28 July, while officials from both sides were holding an urgent meeting in Siem Reap on defusing border tension, PAD organized a rally in Bangkok at which Sondhi Limthongkul addressed the temple issue. He proposed numerous measures of retaliation against Cambodia and its leaders who were condemned for being arrogant toward Thailand. These proposals were not intended for the Samak Sundaravej government, which PAD was trying to topple, but for a new government, which PAD hoped would soon replace the Samak one. Some of the interesting issues in Sondhi's proposal were:

1. • The Thai government should set up a special taskforce to lobby the members of the UN Security Council and ask them to choose between Thailand and Cambodia.

2. • The Thai government should tell Thai business people to withdraw from Cambodia because Thailand did not promote trade and investment in Cambodia and the Thai government would not be able to assist them if conflict broke out.

3. • The Thai government should inform Thai business people in the border areas that Thailand would have to close the border if conflict broke out.

4. • The Thai government should inform the Cambodian government that the disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple belonged solely to Thailand which would defend her sovereignty with all means, including war. Sondhi added that Cambodia would not dare to fight with Thailand because her economy still depended on Thailand, but if Cambodia remained stubborn, Thailand should shut down all the 40 border checkpoints along the Thai-Cambodian border and suspend all flights from Thailand to Cambodia which would impact Cambodia greatly since 70 per cent of the flights had to transit in Thailand.