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Ceasefire may well be an impossible dream
The road towards a permanent ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia - which the UN Security Council has appealed for - has developed new twists after Cambodian troops resumed their attacks on Thai troops before dawn yesterday.
Over the past three years, most of the clashes between Thailand and Cambodia have occurred in the Phu Makhua mountain area west of the Preah Vihear Temple.
Fresh clashes erupted on Feb 4 and after a temporary lull, broke out again yesterday in that area.
Could it be a harbinger of more to come? Will it make even a temporary ceasefire difficult to achieve? How can the two countries achieve a permanent ceasefire when Cambodia seems not to want it?
To some observers, Cambodia's real intent is to push the UNSC into a corner and leave it with no choice but to send peacekeeping troops to the disputed areas.
At Phu Makhua, located in the dispute 4.6 square kilometre area, Thai and Cambodian troops are only about 30 metres apart.
Phu Makhua, or Phanom Trop in Khmer, is considered highly strategic by both sides.
From this spot, Thai troops can observe all activities at Preah Vihear temple. Naturally, Cambodia's military wants to control it.
Strategically, control over the mountain is important for many reasons. Earlier, most areas of Phu Makhua were under the control of the Thai military.
But since Thai troops adjusted their forces in the area, resulting in some troops withdrawing from Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Temple, next to Phu Makhua, Cambodian troops have quietly infiltrated the area.
"So far, Cambodian troops occupy about 5% of Phu Makhua," army sources said.
Apart from Phu Makhua, other important strategic spots in the disputed areas are Lan Insee (Eagle Ground) and the old Thai border patrol police outpost in front of Pha More I Dang. They are all high-ground areas from which Thai troops can observe the activities on Cambodian soil.
By attempting to seize a greater area of Phu Makhua from the Thai troops. the Cambodian military can gain a strategic advantage in the battle to control the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area, a source said.
"We don't want to move to seize other areas," Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said. Yet the Thai military has deployed more than 23,000 troops along with powerful war weapons at the border area. Cambodia might have mobilised about the same number of troops on its side of the border.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wants the UN to intervene in the border dispute as he believes it will give his country greater political leverage over Thailand in the realm of international politics. The Cambodian leader, who is keen on international politics, also wants to take control over the largest portion of the 4.6 square kilometre disputed areas as possible.
For this reason, even with an agreement to institute a ceasefire, the Cambodian military could resume their attacks against Thai troops at any time. http://www.bangko...ible-dream
Antal indlæg: 596 Tilmeldt: 07.02.11 Status: Offline
Lad dem køre deres absurde pis helt, helt derud hvor begge parter vil tigge og bede om at det aldrig var kommet såvidt!
Men det er Asien, "home of the gooks" - med noget kinesisk arrogant blod blandet i generne, det er ren dynamit, phucking monkey creatures er de alle til hobe...
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