Coffee Talk

 UNESCO conferring the ancient Preah Vihear temple as World Heritage Site, and the exploitation of it by Thai protestors as another reason for Thai PM Sundaravej to step down, are only triggers to the armed military standoff between Thailand and Cambodia. 

The true cause of the spat is the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling in 1962 that, while the temple itself belongs to Cambodia, the entrance to the site and the land on which it sits belong to Thailand.  The ownership of yet another 5 sq km of surrounding land remains ambiguous. 

You see, the ICJ makes a practice of playing the nice guy. 

Recently (May ’08), in settling a dispute between Malaysia and Singapore, the ICJ ruled that the tiny islet of Pedra Blanca belongs to Singapore, with the adjacent Middle Rocks assigned to Malaysia.  It stayed out of making a decision for the tiniest rock among the cluster, the South Ledge, saying instead that it belongs to whoever owns the territorial waters the South Ledge sits in. 

What is this?  Here they are, looking up to an authority to resolve an issue, and there, the Court of Justice has just created a new can of worms – perhaps not one immediately, the neighbors are currently basking in harmonious relationship - but goodness knows what little it takes to trigger a confrontation.   

It is tempting to please everyone, but that serves little towards a lasting resolution, as is evident in the case between Thailand and Cambodia now.

The role of an authority like the ICJ is to dish out just, practical and permanent verdicts, and facilitate the closure of issues.

Granted the issues can tricky and complicated, we don’t necessarily appreciate the depth and the delicacy of the considerations that have to be pondered.  But hey, aren’t these all the reasons why cases are referred to the ICJ in the first place?

Tags: Politics, news, Commentary //