Cambodia unsuccessfully pushes for UNSC resolution on conflicts with Thailand

Cambodia has tried unsuccessfully to ask the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that would call for a ceasefire with Thailand and a fact-finding mission to address the ongoing border conflicts between the two countries, according to the Thai ambassador to the United Nations.

Ambassador Cherdchai Chaivaivid said the proposal was made during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council requested by Cambodia on Friday.

Cambodian UN Ambassador Chhea Keo also proposed that the UN Security Council refer the Thai-Cambodian conflicts to the International Court of Justice.

However, Cherdchai said the Cambodian proposal was not taken by the 15-member security council.

“There was no debate on the Cambodian proposal. And personally, I think the proposal doesn’t make sense,” he said in an interview with Thai PBS World. He insisted that the two countries should use the existing bilateral mechanisms to resolve their differences.

He said though the meeting concluded without a resolution, it heard suggestions by council members on how Thailand and Cambodia should resolve their ongoing conflicts.

“Some council members view the conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia as being limited to only clashes along their border and do not pose an immediate threat to world peace,” said Cherdchai.

He said if the situation does not escalate any further, it is unlikely that the UN Security Council would discuss the issue again.

He said there were suggestions during the meeting that efforts should be made by countries in the Southeast Asian region to help resolve the conflicts.

“From the tone of the UNSC members, I can say that they would want ASEAN to play a role in helping to resolve the conflicts,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Welle quoted Cambodia's envoy to the United Nations as saying that his country wants an "immediate ceasefire" with Thailand.

"Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire — unconditionally — and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," Cambodian Ambassador Chhea Keo said after the closed-door meeting.

Keo questioned how Thailand, a regional military heavyweight, could accuse Cambodia, a smaller neighbor, of initiating the fighting, according to Deutsche Welle

"(The Security Council) called for both parties to (show) maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well," Chhea Keo said.