FM optimistic Thailand should win Preah Vihear case

BANGKOK, January 4 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikuk has expressed his optimism that Thailand should clinch a victory on a Preah Vihear case being considered by the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ). Surapong acknowledged on Friday that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked untiringly and has appointed Virachai Plasai, Thailand’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, to represent the Kingdom in fighting the judicial battle over the case, filed with the World Court by Phnom Penh. Surapong said that his ministry is also working closely with the Thai Ministry of Defence on issues related to the ancient Preah Vihear Temple, located along the common border between Thailand and Cambodia. The ICJ is scheduled to hear final explanations from legal experts of the two neighbouring countries on the controversial issue from April 15-19, 2013 and it will then take at least six months before it will give its final verdict on the case. The Cambodian government asked the ICJ to interpret its 1962 verdict on the ownership of the Preah Vihear Temple and an unsettle area surrounding the ancient Hindu temple in April 2011, seeking the World Court's order for Thailand to withdraw troops from the contentious area around Preah Vihear Temple, after relations between the two neighbouring countries soured in the wake of Phnom Penh's bid to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site unilaterally. The ICJ ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear Temple was on the Cambodian soil, but its ruling was not clear about ownership of the surrounding 4.6 square kilometre area. Thai and Cambodian troops had clashed from time to time, as each side attempted to assert sovereignty over the disputed area. The deputy premier reiterated, however, that the Thai government will respect the ICJ’s final verdict on the case no matter what the outcome is. (TNA)