Stepping back from chaos

Ta Muen Thom temple, situated in an overlapping area of Thailand and Cambodia, has emerged as another conflict hotspot between the neighbouring countries, fuelled by angry scrapping at the border by locals from both sides.

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On Monday, Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, 2nd region army commander, threatened to close the Surin-based temple for at least seven days if tensions in the area keep rising. While it remains unclear if the planned closure will also include the Cambodian side, this cannot be good.

Ta Muen Thom, as well as the nearby Ta Kwai, are the centre of competing territorial claims after Cambodia included the temple in a petition to be filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), following a border clash at Chong Bok in Ubon Ratchathani late in May.

Since then, locals from both sides have headed to the temple to flaunt their claims and face down the other side. The number of visitors has increased lately, particularly after nearly two dozen buses from Phnom Penh turned up over the weekend. The Thai side has reciprocated with locals turning up to taunt the other side.