Preah Vihear

The temple held religious and politico-cultural value for the Khmer empire, with Hindu influence. It sits on the Thai-Cambodian border, which was ambiguously demarcated in the colonial era.

• 1953 - Cambodia gains full independence from France.
• Thailand saw a power vacuum and seized Preah Vihear; Cambodia called this an infringement of its sovereignty.
• 1958-1960 - Cambodia internationalised the dispute through the media; Sihanouk used Cambodian nationalism as a political ideology.
• 4 September 1958 - the Cambodian PM declared a withdrawal from talks; protests in Thailand against the Cambodian embassy led to a temporary cut in diplomatic ties.
• UN intervention restored relations.

• Based on Thailand's maps from 1904 and 1907, and on Thai non-objection.
• Thailand only sought to reclaim the temple in 1954.
• The ICJ awarded the temple to Cambodia.

• The ICJ decided only on the temple, not the surrounding land.
• Thailand built a barbed-wire fence around the temple to block access.
• Access became the main point of contention in later years.