Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on
April 9 led a delegation of border and legal experts to The Hague of
the Netherlands to attend an oral hearing at the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) relating to the disputed area around the ancient Preah
Vihear Temple with Thailand.
Speaking to
reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport before his
departure, Hor Namhong said the delegation includes three foreign legal
experts from France, the US and the UK.
He showed his optimism about the case, which he said has drawn much attention from the ICJ.
Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to deliver their oral
statements on the border dispute to the ICJ between April 15 and 19. The
court will issue its final decision on which country owns the disputed
area around the temple later this year.
The upcoming
hearing is the second round of hearings between the two countries at the
ICJ since Cambodia asked the court to interpret the 1962 judgment
concerning the dispute.
The two neighbours have had
sporadic border conflicts over territorial dispute near the temple since
the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.-VNA