Temple Preah Vihear

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Case Study – Temple Preah Vihear A concise summary of the dispute Temple Preah Vihear or Phra Viharn–long (which Thais call) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, commenced construction from the 9th century till the 12th century during the reign of the golden Khmer Empire. It is located in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province, bordering Cambodia and Thailand. The Khmer people’s main religion is Hinduism. The Khmer kings started the construction of the Temple Preah Vihear in the 9th century, with the purpose of dedicating the temple to the Hindu god Shiva. This temple was originally constructed by and for the Khmer people (currently known as Cambodians) was built on an area occupied by Siam (currently known as Thailand). The weakening of the Khmer empire begins in 1431 and worsen in 1794 as the Khmer king surrendered to Siam the northwestern provinces around modern-day Sisophon and Batdambang. In 1863, to avoid Siamese domination, Cambodian King Norodom requested French protectorate status. Four years later, the King of Siam exchanged large territories in northern and western parts of the Khmer kingdom, including the area around Preah Vihear for the claim of suzerainty over Cambodia. In 1904, the Cambodia and Siam (currently known as Thailand) signed a border treaty to clarify the border ownwership between Cambodia and Siam. This treaty agrees that the northern frontier near Preah Vihear would run along the watershed line of the Dângrêk Mountains and would have in principle put most of the temple on Siamese soil. But this treaty did not specify or conclude the actual borderline between Cambodia and Siam. Following this, in 1907, there was a survey conducted by the French officials and a topographical map was produced to show the precise demarcation of the border. Based on the watershed line principle formed earlier, the
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