Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts on Thursday (July 29) to block Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple management plan from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.
Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much.
At press time Thursday night, the World Heritage Committee had not yet considered the plan and Suwit hoped the committee would delay considering it for another year.
Thailand and Cambodia were once again at loggerheads over the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear when Cambodia submitted its management plan to run the world heritage-designated temple.
Unesco's World Heritage Committee is holding its annual meeting in Brasilia.
Preah Vihear has been inscribed on the world heritage list since July 2008 and Cambodia was obligated to submit for consideration its management plan for the temple.
Thailand expressed its concern over the plan, fearing Cambodia might make the disputed areas adjacent to the temple a buffer zone.
The Cambodian plan does not include areas to the north and the west of the temple, which are the subject of a border dispute with Thailand, according to a source close to the meeting.
At a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on the sidelines of the World Heritage Committee meeting, Suwit raised his concern that the area to the east of the temple, which is the core zone for the listed property, is also under Thai sovereignty.
The Thai Cabinet, after the ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1962, had relinquished the eastern area to Preah Vihear. However, Thai officials at the meeting in Brazil yesterday insisted that the area remained under Thai sovereignty.
Cambodia rejected the Thai claim and the meeting between Suwit and Sok An failed to find any common ground.
Meanwhile, Suwit prepared measures to respond to the Unesco and World Heritage Committee's decision. He was lobbying to have consideration of the plan delayed for at least one year. If the lobbying efforts failed, Suwit planned to issue a statement of protest, objecting to the temple management plan.
The protest statement for the records would state that Thailand would never recognise Cambodia's right over the Preah Vihear temple, the source said.
As a final option, Thailand might withdraw its membership from the World Heritage Committee, he said.
Cambodia said Thailand's move would harm its international reputation, as the objection to the Preah Vihear plan was an attempt by the Thai government and its extremist alliance to spoil the good relations between the two countries.
"Cambodia doesn't care at all about the objection," Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, was quoted as saying by The Phnom Penh Post.
The Cambodian government's spokesman, Phay Siphan, said the so-called overlapping area of 4.6 square kilometres adjacent to the Preah Vihear as claimed by Thailand was based on a unilaterally produced map but the Cambodian claim was based on the 1908 Siam-Franco map.
"Thailand's falsified establishment of the map to claim the area is an international crime," he said.
"Now Thailand's policy is, if they get nothing, they want to co-manage the eco-management."
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the management plan of Preah Vihear should not be approved until Thailand and Cambodia have settled the border dispute over the areas surrounding the temple.
The Joint Boundary Committee of the two countries is now in the process of negotiating the boundary demarcation but its work has made little progress.
Abhisit said that ideally all problems could be settled if Cambodia allowed Thailand to propose the Preah Vihear jointly as a World Heritage Site.
Thousands of pro-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members gathered in front of the Unesco regional office in Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road Thursday night, waiting for the World Heritage Committee's decision on the Cambodian plan.
The PAD is a strong pressure group that is forcing the government to oppose the Cambodian plan over fear of losing territory.
