Blatant denial by Thai military claiming no Thai troops were captured.

Time Magazine (TIME), which partnered with CNN report that:

“Thai Army Captain Apichat concurs. Apichat, who is based near the temple with a unit of 10 Thai troops, says that commanders on both sides need to keep talking. Apichat and his men were disarmed and detained by Cambodian soldiers for a day during the fighting but he doesn’t want any more problems. “After the attack we must be concerned,” he says, sitting alongside a Cambodian officer at a table in the compound of a pagoda that neighbors the temple. “We need to have meetings … and have no fighting.”

Even with pictures and proof from a neutral source, the Thai military denied that any Thai soldiers were captured. (Bangkok Post)

Stories of former enemies

Enemies turn allies in temple battle
By Stephen Kurczy
from AsiaTimes (atimes.com)

PREAH VIHEAR and PHNOM PENH – Comrade Neak Vong spent nearly two decades fighting against the Cambodian government. Now, he and other former Khmer Rouge soldiers are fighting on behalf of their former adversary in what some fear could escalate into a full-blown war with neighboring Thailand over claims to ancient temples and their surrounding territories.

Along the Thai-Cambodia border, where fighting broke out on October 15 between Thai and Cambodian troops, loyalties have blurred as longtime enemies fight for the same cause. Ten years after a nearly two-decade civil war between the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian government ended, military generals from both

sides have picked up their weapons in a standoff with Thailand.

Currently the secretary general of staff for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, Neak Vong fled with the Khmer Rouge to Cambodia’s northwest when Vietnamese forces pushed the genocidal Maoist regime into the border jungles in 1979. For the next 17 years, the cadre sparred with Thai troops to the north and Cambodian troops to the south while he guarded several ancient temples and their surrounding land.

In 1996, he laid down his arms as Khmer Rouge Brother Number Two, Ieng Sary, led the first wave of defections to the government. Ieng Sary today is in detention facing war crimes at the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh. Neak Vong, however, is back on the frontline, called on by the Cambodian government to help maintain sovereignty over one of the three disputed temples on the Thai-Cambodia border.

He now leads 550 Cambodian troops at Ta Moan temple, 200 kilometers west of Preah Vihear temple where fighting erupted Wednesday and left two Cambodian soldiers dead. “I’m used to fighting with Thailand along the border,” Neak Vong recently quipped.

The current military standoff at Preah Vihear temple began in mid-July days after Cambodia successfully listed it as a United Nations World Heritage Site. Hundreds of Thai demonstrators had amassed nearby to protest what they considered an attempt to steal Thai land and, in response, Cambodia chain-locked the Thai’s entrance gate and stationed a number of soldiers at the temple. Within weeks, Thailand locked Cambodia out of Ta Moan temple and stationed a number of solders there. Both scenes quickly devolved into military standoffs.

Fighting for Cambodia aligns Neak Vong with the man he fought against during the Khmer Rouge’s guerilla war, Som Bopharoat, one of the Cambodian military commanders now leading operations to defend Preah Vihear temple for Cambodia. Som Bopharoat’s headquarters sit at the highest point of the 800-meter-long temple structure.

A meter from his camouflage green tent, a sheer cliff drops 575 meters to the sparsely inhabited Cambodian plains. In a recent interview outside his tent, Som Bopharoat recalled fighting Neak Vong and the renegade Khmer Rouge in the 1990s. Both sides would eavesdrop on the other’s radio communications, he said, sometimes breaking into a frequency to curse and threaten the other.

“I heard the enemy’s voice through the radio,” he recalled. “After they defected to the government, I saw the voice and said ‘You used to fight against me’!” Som Bopharoat doesn’t know if he ever heard Neak Vong’s voice, but he knows of him and he smiled at the irony of former enemies now fighting alongside one another.

It’s all part of what Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said is a “win-win policy in dealing with the cadres of the former DK [Democratic Republic of Kampuchea]“. When Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea defected to the government in December 1998, Prime Minister Hun Sen said they should be welcomed “with bouquets of flowers, not with prisons and handcuffs”.

He told the press then: “If a wound does not hurt, you should not poke at it with a stick to make it bleed. If we put those two men in prison, will this benefit society or lead to civil war?” While Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea are now both in pre-trial detention, along with Ieng Sary, Hun Sen’s comments in retrospect speak more towards lower-level Khmer Rouge-defectors like Neak Vong.

National reconciliation is more important than punishing all former Homer Rouge members, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said in a recent e-mail with this correspondent, and, at the same time, the Khmer Rouge troops “are very familiar with the areas”.

Marginal advantage
Experts question if that will help the Cambodian forces against Thailand’s better-equipped and United States-trained forces. Bertil Lintner, a regional security expert based in Thailand, said Preah Vihear temple’s cliff-top location isn’t suitable for the type of guerrilla warfare with which the Khmer Rouge is acquainted.

“There is nowhere to go, nowhere to retreat for the Cambodian forces except by helicopter – or an extremely steep and vulnerable climb down the cliff. The [Khmer Rouge] fought a guerrilla war in the jungles of the Cambodian lowlands, not on top of the Preah Vihear cliff,” he said in an e-mail message. What is more, he added, most of the Khmer Rouge forces have since retired from battle.

Nevertheless, the fact that ex-Khmer Rouge guerillas like Neak Vong are members of the Cambodian forces has opened the military to a measure of criticism: not only are the former Khmer Rouge fighters familiar with Cambodia’s remote northwestern areas, they’re also familiar with the laying of anti-personnel mines of the type that severely injured two Thai soldiers earlier this month.

During their civil war, both the Khmer Rouge and Cambodian government are estimated to have laid tens of thousands of mines around Preah Vihear temple. Thai officials have claimed – including in a presentation to foreign diplomats on Thursday – that Cambodian troops recently planted the Russian-built mines on Thai soil, representing a violation of Thai sovereignty.

Virachai Plasai, the director of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accused Cambodia on Friday of violating the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning landmines. “This is a grave threat for the international community as a whole,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry has issued several statements saying its soldiers did not plant the mines, and Khem Sophoan, director-general of the Cambodia Mine Action Center, said the area where the two Thai troops lost their legs had never been de-mined.

“These are old mines, laid during the war between the government and the Khmer Rouge,” he said by telephone Friday. “After Cambodia signed the Ottawa Convention, we destroyed all of our supplies and did not lay new mines. We only clear mines.” Those conflicting accounts, if not resolved, could ignite more hostilities, security experts say.

From Cambodia’s base camp below Ta Moan temple, Neak Vong said he thinks it makes sense for former Khmer Rouge cadres to lead the mission against Thailand. “I know this area and I am not afraid of Thailand,” he said from his jungle headquarters, giving an insight into his military tactics. He said he sent 100 Cambodian troops on August 5 trekking up a rocky ledge through a thick, wet jungle in the steep ascent to Ta Moan temple. Familiar with the terrain, they were able to surround a 20-person Thai camp stationed inside what he claimed to be Cambodian territory.

“After we circled them, they withdrew,” recalled one of Neak Vong’s troops. Twenty Cambodian military remain stationed there. Wearing Converse sneakers and flip-flops, they patrol the camp with B40 rocket launchers and AK-47 rifles.

Som Bopharoat and Neak Vong both claim to know the lay of the land and how to hold their positions. Both also said that, unlike when Khmer Rouge fighters patrolled the area, diplomatic negotiations are probably the best course of action. But as accusations fly between both countries about landmines, land boundaries and who fired first on Wednesday, a truce for now seems elusive.

It might yet be a long standoff at both Ta Moan and Preah Vihear temples, the two military leaders said. With thunderclouds rolling in over the hillside and lighting striking down in the distance, the rainy season has taken its toll on his troops, said Neak Vong before this week’s skirmish. Nonetheless, he’s prepared to live in the jungle for a while.

“We’re used to having a difficult time,” the former Khmer Rouge fighter said.

Stephen Kurczy is a Cambodia-based journalist.

Back to peace and normalcy.

After the short conflict, military leaders of both sides agreed to peace. Back to normalcy, the common folks along the border wants nothing but peace. They depend on each others livelihood (trade and commerce). Ultimately, it is the commoners who will suffer, not the politicians.

In the meantime, PM Hun Sen asks for a bigger budget for the military. Critics hoped he will use it to strengthen the military, instead of enriching his constituents.

They are not Thai says a general

October 16 2008
AFP

Preah Vihear, Cambodia – A Cambodian commander said on Thursday his country had released 13 Thai soldiers who surrendered during a deadly border shoot-out, although Thailand denies they were ever in custody.

Major General Srey Deok, commander of Cambodian troop operations in the disputed border area, said they had agreed to release the Thai soldiers after talks on Thursday with senior Thai military officials.

“We handed their weapons back to them already,” Srey Deok said, adding that the troops had been released and allowed to walk around the disputed area.

Thailand, however, has maintained that NONE of their troops were captured by Cambodia.

“They are not Thai,” said Lieutenant General Wiboonsak Neeparn, Thailand’s north-eastern army commander, after the meeting with Cambodian officials.

Two Cambodian soldiers were killed and several troops wounded on both sides when fighting broke out Wednesday on disputed land near an 11th century Khmer temple, a UN World Heritage site on Cambodian territory.

Cambodia and Thailand have been sparring over land near the temple since July, and tensions soared this week after about 80 Thai troops entered a disputed area, enraging Cambodia.

note: some people believe the article is fake.  I guess South Africa must have faked this news too, since they posted it here.  The Thai military also denied their own Thai media access to their front line.  As a result, Thai media can only report what they hear from the generals.

Inside source on the skirmish

October 16, 2008
By Sokheoun Pang
Originally posted at http://sokheounpang.wordpress.com

These few days I have tried to contact my counsin and my cousin-in-law who are soldiers stationing at the Cambodian-Thai border in the front line. Luckily today, I got their numbers and called them.

I was supprised about the news they told me:

* Today’s negotiation is absolutely negative and the fight will erupt again any time. And now both sides are preparing for war.

* The Cambodian side: 2 died and two wounded.
* The Thai side: 12 died, 10 captured, 5 wounded. He told me that the 12 killed Thais were blown out by B40. They were killed at the Eagle Field as they entered the field and opened fired and Cambodian soldiers just targeted them at the spot with repeated blasts.

He said that the Thai side have tried to negotiate until now to take back the bodies but were refused by the Cambodian commanders. The Thai have proposed the Cambodian not to publish the news about their dead soldiers and even the 10 captured. The Cambodia accept it as the condition to pressure the Thai. Note: I asked them about what presure and they said they don´t know because it the higher policy.

These are only what I have received today and I hope this news to be true. I will keep updating it if I get anything new from my relatives on the field.

Thai general wants to dissolve the House of Representative and remove PM Wongsawat. (so much for Democracy)

October 17, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

Thailand’s most powerful military leader says the government needs to step down to take responsibility for the deaths of two anti-government protesters in clashes with police last week.

General Anupong Paochinda has told Thai television that the House of Representatives should be dissolved, and the prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, should resign because blood was spilled in the confrontation. (so much for democracy)

But General Anupong says the military will not launch a coup to make it happen.

There have been 18 military coups or attempted coups in Thailand since 1932.

The last one was in 2006 which ousted Mr Somchai’s brother in law, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Over the past five months, anti-government protesters have waged a campaign to force the government out.

The government is also facing pressure over a deadly border skirmish with Cambodia on Wednesday.

6 Thai soldiers killed. (Cambodian army source)

16 Oct 2008
By Moeung Tum
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Cambodian and Thai army chiefs held talks for 5 hours in Thailand near Preah Vihear temple on Thursday to try to resolve the armed confrontation between the two countries.

General Srey Doeuk indicated that the two sides agreed to maintain the situation in the various zones near Preah Vihear temple as it was before the fighting took place.

Furthermore, at the Prolean Entry (Eagle Field) area, the two sides agreed to maintain Cambodian troops where they are currently stationed, and Thai troops will stop trying to move into the area.

A Cambodian officer indicated that during yesterday’s fight, 6 Thai soldiers were killed.

Pictures of captured Thai soldiers by Khmer soldiers

A Cambodian soldier (L) sits next to surrendered Thai troops at Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda near the disputed 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh October 15, 2008. Cambodia’s army captured 10 Thai soldiers on Wednesday after a battle along a disputed stretch of border near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Thai troops sit after surrendering at Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda near the disputed 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh October 15, 2008. Cambodia’s army captured 10 Thai soldiers on Wednesday after a battle along a disputed stretch of border near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian solider looks at Thai weapons after fighting at Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda near the disputed 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh October 15, 2008. Thai and Cambodian troops fired rockets and small arms at each other on a disputed stretch of border on Wednesday, killing two Cambodians and prompting Bangkok to tell its citizens to return home. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Admin: These Thai soldiers were lucky Khmer soldiers obey international law.  Food were provided to the captured soldiers.  In the old Khmer Rogue war, they would have been captured and killed.  These black clad soldiers have been harassing Cambodian villagers for years.  Now they actually face reistance, and what do they do?  surrender.

Our deepest blessing goes to the two Khmer soldiers killed, along with the two wounded during this skirmish.

More skirmish. Soldiers died and wounded. Thai denied they fired first.

In a one hour mini skirmish where both sides blame the other of shooting first, two Cambodian soldiers were killed, two were wounded, while seven Thai soldiers were wounded, and 10 captured by the Cambodian army.

The U.S. and Britain, along with Singapore and other ASEAN members urged restraint between the two countries.

Flows of Cambodians in Thailand, and Thais in Cambodia are heading back to their respective country.

Because of this dispute, 3.85% of the Thai financial market went down the drain.  Thai business giants like Siam Cement, Siam Commercial Bank and the CP Group have put their Cambodian offices on high alert in case tensions worsen. Thai businesses will suffer most if war were to break out. Thailand is the third largest trading partner behind Vietnam and China. They are also the third largest investor in Cambodia behind Japan and Korea.

Khmer men volunteering to defend Cambodian sovereignty

Friday, 10 October 2008
Thet Sambath The Phnom Penh Post
Oddar Meanchey Province

In Trapaing Prasat district, men young and old say ongoing tensions on the Thai border have persuaded them to enlist for service in the military
DRIVEN by ongoing hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand over disputed border lands, a growing number of Cambodian men are putting their lives on hold and enlisting for military service .

Loth Sokhean, a 19-year-old student from Anlong Veng district in Oddar Meanchey province, quit his studies to join Brigade 43 – a military unit mostly made up of former Khmer Rouge fighters – shortly after the standoff near Preah Vihear temple began in July.

He is currently stationed at Phnom Trop, about two or three kilometres from the temple, where the simmering tensions exploded in a hail of gunfire between troops from the two sides last week.

“I joined the RCAF voluntarily, not by force,” he told the Post. “I was angry when Thai soldiers invaded our temple.”

“I carried my father’s gun when I was a small child, and I have experience hiding from shelling in the battlefield with my father during the 1990s,” he said.

Other men – not all of them young – have felt compelled by the border tensions to become soldiers.

Nun Rom, 39, lives with his wife and three children near Dangrek mountain, which demarcates Cambodia’s border with Thailand.

I JOINED BECAUSE I SAW THAI SOLDIERS CONFISCATING CAMBODIAN LAND.

He served in the army from 1980 to 2003 and appealed to military commanders to allow him to return.

“I was accepted as a soldier after submitting my application,” he said. “I was told I would receive my identification card from the Ministry of Defence this month.”

Nun Rom said he was happy to be back in uniform and that he wanted to defend his country against any further incursion by Thai soldiers.

He added that some 280 men have joined the military from his home district of Trapaing Prasat.

Chheng Phea, 43, comes from the same village as Nun Rom and volunteered for service at about the same time.

“I joined because I saw Thai soldiers confiscating Cambodian land. If I didn’t become a soldier, how could I prevent this encroachment?” he said.

Chhim Sereyrath, the 24-year-old son of a former Khmer Rouge cadre, told the Post he is ready to serve the Kingdom as a soldier if he is needed.

“If the government needs me, I will do it, and I know my friends and many others feel the same way,” he said.

Chin Touch, 53, served as a Khmer Rouge medical officer from 1971 to 1980. She told the Post her sons would be prepared to volunteer in the event of a war with Thailand.

“I have three sons. They will serve if the government needs them,” she said. “If there is war, I will tell them to be soldiers.”

RCAF officials told the Post they have recruited new soldiers in Trapaing Prasat and Anlong Veng districts, as well as in several other provinces.

But Nuon Nov, deputy commander of Military Region 4, said he was not aware of recruitment efforts along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Admin: Of all the areas and regions around Cambodia, the NorthWestern regions are packed with former Khmer Rouge veteran fighters. It will be a hard place for Thailand to invade. Regardless of technology and superior arms, a place where people have been fighting and familiarizing for decades will be hard to control. Even if one assume the Thai army successfully took over Northwestern Cambodia, controlling it will be near impossible. The “guerrilla warfare” will not stop. There will be more casulty on the Thai side than ever before if war were to erupt.

War is the last resort. If the Thai chooses, because only they can decide to go to war or not, it will be the biggest tragedy ever in their history.