Cool heads must prevail

The Thai-Cambodian border dispute eased over the weekend when troops from both nations agreed to reposition themselves from the disputed area to make way for negotiations scheduled for the upcoming Saturday.

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Despite this, warmongering and ultranationalistic sentiments are still running high, to the extent that some national security experts and even the government have become concerned.

Yesterday, Deputy Defence Minister Gen Nattaphol Nakpanich urged on his Facebook page that “patriots” should not use derogatory words to describe Cambodian troops who left the disputed area, following the Thai army that had given ground first.

“Please avoid using the words ‘retreat’ and ‘withdraw’ for the Cambodia troops, it is indeed a victory for both countries at a strategic level,” the deputy defence minister wrote.

The heightened tension follows a brief skirmish at an undemarcated border area in Ubon Ratchathani on May 28, which resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier and a flare-up in the long-simmering Thai-Cambodian relationship.