Cambodia ‘has no clout’ over Preah Vihear temple court order
Thailand has submitted 620 more pages of its second written observations report on the Preah Vihear temple to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The documents maintain that Cambodia “has no authority to call for the court to interpret the 1962 court verdict”.
Treaties and Legal Affairs Department director-general Rachanant Thananant said Thailand sent its second written observations to the ICJ on Thursday in response to the Cambodian position submitted to the court on March 8 this year.
The written explanations contain 240 pages of detailed narrative and a 380-page document, plus 53 map annexes, Rachanant said.
(AFP)
Thai Ambassador to the Hague and leader of the Thai defence team Virachai Plasai submitted the written observations to the ICJ. Other members of the Thai delegation comprise representatives from the Defence Ministry, the prosecutor’s office and the Council of State.
Thailand maintained its argument that Cambodia had no authority to call for the court to interpret the 1962 court verdict, said Rachanant, who is also deputy leader of the Thai team.
“It means Cambodia is trying to ask the court to rule that the border line should be the line which Cambodia called for under its 1:200,00 map and demands that the court rule on the legal status of this map,” he said.
The ICJ in 1962 did not give any legal status to the map mentioned by Cambodia but the court used this map as one of many reasons to rule that the temple was under Cambodia’s sovereignty, he said.
Cambodia used the 1:200,000 map to claim that areas around the temple which are commonly claimed by both countries belong to Phnom Penh.
Thailand also reiterated in the second explanation that the 1962 verdict, with which Bangkok complied, had to do with sovereignty over the temple only and did not involve the borderline, Rachanant said.
He stressed the scope of the temple areas should follow the line which the Thai cabinet determined on July 10, 1962 and Cambodia accepted.
This line does not indicate the borderline between the two countries because border demarcation is an ongoing process that is being carried out under the negotiation framework of the Thailand-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).
Thailand is waiting for the court to consider whether the country should have a public sitting or oral testimony it requested, Rachanant said. “We are confident and expect the ICJ to consider the case fairly with all sides,” he said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/299296/cambodia-has-no-clout-over-62-preah-vihear-court-order
Category: Regional
