Asia 901
Cambodian attempt to take possession of it. Clashes between Cambodian and Thai
forces ensued but no fatalities were reported.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from June 15, 1962. End Date changed from
November 17, 1962.
MID#2623
Dispute Number: 2623
Date(s): August 8, 1963 to November 22, 1963
Participants: 800 Thailand/811 Cambodia
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: This dispute was a show of force by Thailand over the Koh Kong province
in Cambodia. Thailand then placed their forces on alert.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from July 25, 1963.
MID#1229
Dispute Number: 1229
Date(s): April 14, 1964 to September 30, 1966
Participants: 811 Cambodia/800 Thailand
Outcome (and Settlement): Yield by side B (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 101–250 deaths
Narrative: This dispute is one of a series of disputes Thailand and Cambodia had over
Preah Vihear temple, which in Thailand is known as Khao Phra Viharn (sometimes
spelled Prah Viharn). Both states held that the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 granted
them the Temple. Preah Vihear was only accessible from the Dangrek Mountains,
which lay to the north, and from 1953 Thailand maintained a police post in the Dan-
grek Mountains. On October 6, 1959, Cambodia petitioned the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) for relief, and the ICJ issued a ruling in 1962 in which it stated that
Cambodia held sovereignty over the temple. In late June 1962, the Thai prime min-
ister announced that his country would abide by the ruling, and Thailand turned over
control of the Temple to Cambodia the following month.
Nevertheless, Thai troops attacked and occupied the Preah Vihear Temple in April
- The Thai troops killed five of the Cambodian troops they had taken prisoner.
However, their occupation was short-lived: the Cambodians recaptured the temple
only three days later. From April 17 to 22, Thai forces shelled and attacked Cambo-
dian positions, but they did not recapture the temple, and starting on May 5, Cambo-
dian troops repelled three Thai invasions of 2,000 troops each.
Cambodia protested to the UN Security Council on May 19, and Thailand requested
a UN observer team on June 3. Sihanouk proposed a border agreement to reopen rela-
tions with Thailand, but Thai leaders rejected that demand in September. On August
16, the UN secretary-general appointed Herbert de Ribbing special representative
to the dispute. De Ribbing first visited Bangkok then Phnom-Penh. He suggested
to Sihanouk that both sides should issue a joint declaration that they respected each