THAIS DENY MILITARY INCURSION INTO CAMBODIA AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002167

SIPDIS

PARIS PLEASE PASS TO US MISSION UNESCO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNESCO SCUL MOPS PBTS TH CB
SUBJECT: THAIS DENY MILITARY INCURSION INTO CAMBODIA AFTER
PROTESTORS ENTER DISPUTED TERRITORY

REF: A. STATE: 02137 (CRIMINAL CHARGES)

B. STATE: 02111 (FM RESIGNS)

BANGKOK 00002167 001.2 OF 002


SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) On July 15, a senior monk and two other Thais
crossed into disputed territory between Thailand and Cambodia
in protest of Preah Vihear temple's World Heritage status.
Tempers flared on both sides when Cambodian and Thai press
reported that large numbers of Thai troops had entered
Cambodian territory to rescue the protestors and that some
troops had been detained. Some Thai press denied the
allegations and reported that Royal Thai Armed Forces Supreme
Commander General Boonsrang had secured the release of the
prisoners with a phone call to Cambodian Defense Minister
Teah Banh. The sense of tension was heightened with the
additional report of a Thai solider losing a leg to a
landmine near Preah Vihear. Thai officials told us that all
reports of a troop incursion into Cambodia are unfounded.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) On the morning of July 15, a senior monk and two
other protestors crossed into disputed territory in the
vicinity of the Preah Vihear temple, in protest of the
decision to inscribe the temple on the UNESCO World Heritage
List. The protestors claimed an affiliation with the
"Dharmayatra" organization, which the local press has
described as "ultranationalistic." (Note: We do not believe
this group, heretofore unknown to us, is connected to the
"Dharma Army" associated with leading anti-government figure
Chamlong Srimuang. End Note.)


3. (SBU) Thai press quoted a Cambodian official as saying
that 40 Thai troops entered Cambodia on the morning of July
15 after Cambodian soldiers seized the protestors for evading
a border-crossing checkpoint. Cambodian government spokesman
Khieu Kanharith was quoted as stating that 140 Thai troops
crossed into Cambodian territory to assist the protestors,
and that some had been detained - although Khanarith later
protested to Cambodia-based journalists that he had never
said anything about Thai soldiers being detained by Cambodian
military. However, a Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
official told us that Thai troops never entered Cambodian
territory and that there was no "incident" involving Thai
troops. He described the area around Preah Vihear as "good
and controllable," noting that the three protestors had been
released but will most likely continue to protest the RTG's
policies over Preah Vihear. Both a Deputy Army Spokesman and
the Deputy Governor for Security Affairs of Sisaket Province,
which borders the Cambodian site where the temple is located,
told us that the news reports were unfounded. An Australian
diplomat told us that her Embassy's contacts in the Thai
military also asserted Thai troops had not been detained.
Some Thai press denied the allegations and reported that
Royal Thai Armed Forces Supreme Commander General Boonsrang
had secured the release of the prisoners with a phone call to
Cambodian Defense Minister Teah Banh.


4. (C) A BBC correspondent who wrote an article alleging the
incursion into Cambodia of 40 Thai soldier told us that he
received this information from Cambodian authorities. He
added that the Thai soldiers most likely crossed into
disputed territory, noting that the Thais probably did not
view this as Cambodian land. He said that the Thai soldiers
he interviewed during his visit to the area had been
stationed at the temple border area for many years and most
speak Khmer. However, they told him that they stopped their
daily conversations with the Cambodian border soldiers after
the temple's inscription. Since his last visit to the area,
the correspondent noted an addition by the Thai side of
layered barbed-wire with multiple warnings of landmines. He
saw the Cambodians approaching the wire several times and the
Thais yelling at them to retreat. The tension was definitely
high, he added. (An Embassy DAO officer who visited the area
on June 30 confirmed that Thai soldiers were fortifying their
positions, and some of the junior troops believed they might
clash with the Cambodians.)


5. (C) The BBC correspondent was also at the temple site with
a group of Thai Rangers when their radios picked up the
report of a landmine blast that resulted in a Ranger losing a
leg. The Rangers considered the event unrelated to the
tension at the temple since it occurred around four

BANGKOK 00002167 002.2 OF 002


kilometers away from the site, when the Ranger was conducting
a routine border patrol. The Rangers told the correspondent
that the landmine was likely many years old, in an area known
for being littered with the old devices.


6. (SBU) The debate over Preah Vihear on internet sites
reflected the polarized national political environment. Some
postings expressed anger at the anti-government People
Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for exacerbating the issue (ref
A). Popular Thai website and chat board www.pantip.com
featured debates that centered around Thailand and Cambodia
potentially going to war over Preah Vihear and the role of
PAD in the controversy. Some posters assessed that the U.S.
would aid Thailand while China would side with Cambodia;
others said that both the U.S. and the UN would not interfere
in the conflict. Some online commentators noted that
Cambodia successfully promoted its stance on Preah Vihear
during Thailand's 2006 coup, adding that the loss of the
temple could not be blamed entirely on former Foreign
Minister Noppadon Pattama (ref B). They seemed to suggest
that the U.S. chose to favor Cambodia on the temple issue
since it held a democratically-elected government in contrast
to Thailand's interim military government.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (SBU) Despite its World Heritage status, the controversies
surrounding Preah Vihear continue, mainly fueled by turmoil
in domestic Thai politics. Many Thais, whether they support
the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) or not, seem
genuinely dismayed over the perceived lack of transparency in
the Samak government over the Preah Vihear joint communique
and the map submitted to UNESCO. Political cartoons continue
to portray the event as a loss of Thai territory and depict
Thaksin as the only Thai who benefited from the UNESCO
decision. (Thaksin's opponents allege he used his influence
to support inscription and, in return, received favorable
treatment in ostensibly unrelated commercial transactions.)
We will continue to monitor how Preah Vihear is used to fuel
nationalist sentiments and channel displeasure over the
current government's performance.


8. (SBU) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Phnom Penh,
which reports that the Thai-Cambodian face off was front page
news in most local papers today, but with both Cambodian and
local Thai officials seeming to try to defuse the situation.
The Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh responded to local media
inquiries with a faxed statement dismissing rumors that Thai
military personnel had entered into Cambodia territory and
asserting instead that a few Thai paramilitary personnel were
introduced into the border area within Thai territory.

JOHN