Stalemate/Cambodian diplomatic victory The Cambodian–Thai border dispute began in June 2008 as part of a century-long dispute between Cambodia and the Thailand involving the area surrounding the 11th-century Preah Vihear Temple, in the Dângrêk Mountains between Choam Khsant District, Preah Vihear Province of northern Cambodia and the Kantharalak District, Sisaket Province of northeastern Thailand.

According to the Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations, the most recent dispute began on 15 July 2008 when about 50 Thai soldiers moved into the Keo Sikhakirisvara Pagoda vicinity which he claimed was located in Cambodia's territory about 300 metres (980 ft) from the Temple of Preah Vihear.

[7] Thailand claimed the demarcation had not yet been completed for the external parts of the area adjacent to the temple, which was adjudged to be Cambodian by a nine to three decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962.

The Thais discovered the error when they made their own survey in the 1930s, but the ICJ ruled that they had waited too long to protest and lost the temple by "acquiescence".

It contained a secret protocol in which Tokyo agreed to help Thailand regain the territories it had lost to the British and French colonial powers.

With Cambodian Independence and the French withdrawal in 1953, the Thai military occupied Preah Vihear Temple in 1954 in keeping with the border line of the natural watershed.

[16] The ownership dispute revived in recent years when Cambodia submitted an application to UNESCO requesting that Preah Vihear be designated as a World Heritage Site.

In the interest of cross-border relations Cambodia withdrew the application, and after winning support from Thailand, submitted a modified map requesting the designation only for the temple itself.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was viewed as a proxy for the self-exiled Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives abroad to avoid conviction for corruption.

Across the border, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) government of Prime Minister Hun Sen used the possibly coincidental timing of UNESCO's annual meeting and the listing of the temple as a World Heritage site in campaigning for the 27 July 2008 parliamentary election.

[18] The old Khmer legend of Preah Ko Preak Keo has been referred to in this context by Cambodian politicians to illustrate the difficult ties that the country has with neighbouring Thailand.

Core UDD leaders arranged with Cambodian PM Hun Sen for a friendly football match to be played in Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium on September 24, 2011.

[139] MP–and–UDD leaders Jatuporn Prompan and Natthawut Saikua were prohibited from leaving the country due to pending charges arising from the 2010 Thai political protests, so an attorney petitioned the Criminal Court for permission for them to travel to Cambodia for the game.

Cambodian premier Hun Sen led his side to a 10–7 victory, following which he announced that "the nightmare era" between Thailand and Cambodia was over.

The court first concluded that it had jurisdiction and the request for interpretation was admissible, finding that a "dispute exists between the Parties as to the meaning and scope of the 1962 judgment pursuant to Article 60 of the Statute [of the ICJ].

[154] After the initial attack on 4 February 2011, the Cambodian army fired BM-21 Grad rockets into the town of Sao Thong Chai about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the border.

There is evidence, such as video and photo footage from Reuters,[157] showing that Cambodian forces used the temple as a military base and fired machine guns and artillery.

][165][166][167] Thailand and Cambodia agreed to allow Indonesian monitors to go to the border between the two countries to help prevent further military clashes; Indonesia was appointed as observer in this dispute.

[133][134] Despite the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which commits parties to resolve intrastate conflict without violence, and the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding between Cambodia and Thailand, which established a Joint Border Commission to peacefully resolve overlapping claims, important constituent groups in Thailand, including the "Yellow Shirts," maintain that the status of Preah Vihear remains unresolved.

[168] Villagers from Ban Phum Srol denounced plans by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) ("Yellow Shirts") to bring relief supplies.

[170] According to Michael Montesano, a visiting research fellow on Thai history and regional affairs at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, "They're people who say that Hun Sen's playing up the situation on the Thai border is a way to distract the Cambodian people from his much softer stance vis à vis Vietnam relating to poorly demarcated borders.