February 1904 followed up by the Franco-Siamese Treaty of March 23rd 1907: France and Siam sign a treaty in which Siam agrees to cede the territories of Luang Prabang on the east of the Mekong River and the land to the south of the Dangrek mountains to France in exchange for the return of Chantaburi province which the French had seized.
March 1908: France and Siam sign a follow-up treaty in which Siam agrees to cede Battambang, Siem Reap and Si Sophon to France in exchange for Dan Sai and Trat provinces, the island south of Laemsing cape, and Kud island. Yet Siam continues to exercise authority over the Preah Vihear area regulating logging and elephant hunting in the region.
1934: Thai surveyors begin mapping the boundaries of Siam. When demarcating the border with Cambodia, they place Preah Vihear in Siamese territory.
October 1940: The department of Fine Arts of Thailand officially proclaims Preah Vihear ‘a national archeological site’. The Thai government openly takes possession of the site and appoints a caretaker known as Luang Sri, who mediates in a cave near the monument.
1942: During WWII, Japan championing the Thai cause, formulates the Tokyo Treaty which officially returns Preah Vihear and other territories that Thailand was forced to cede to France.
1949: With French assistance and Cambodian consent, a complaint is lodged against Thailand over Preah Vihear. France demands that Thailand should remove all personnel from the area which France claims rightfully belongs to Cambodia.
1958: The government of Cambodia begins making overt moves to reclaim Preah Vihear. The Cambodian Ministry of Public Relations details the legal arguments over Preah Vihear and accuses Thailand of distorting historical fact, citing the 1904 treaty.
August 1958: Relations become so tense the Thai government announces a state of emergency in six areas along the Thai-Cambodian border.
December 1958: Since the two countries have failed to settle their dispute through negotiation, the Cambodian government suspends diplomatic relations with Thailand.
October 1959: The Cambodian government petitions the International Court of Justice at The Hague to command that Thailand remove its armed forces from the Preah Vihear area and affirm that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia.
December 1959: Thailand responds by again proclaiming Preah Vihear a national archeological site. The dispute at the International Court focuses on details of the 1904 treaty which required that a mixed commission survey the borderline. A survey was conducted by a Frenchman and a Cambodian. Thailand later claims that the map they drew was not approved by the mixed commission. Thailand argues that the border was marked by the watershed, as agreed in the 1904 treaty, and therefore Preah Vihear belongs to Thailand. The map, however, places Preah Vihear in Cambodian territory and Cambodian argues that the map had been published under the authority of the mixed commission and that 50 copies of the map had been presented to the Government of Siam and were acknowledged by the Minister of Interior.
June 1962: The International Court decides nine votes to three that Preah Vihear is located in Cambodian territory as Thailand never lodged a formal objection to the French map made according the 1904 treaty and showing Preah Vihear in Cambodian territory.
The decision in 1962, which ceded the Preah Vihear (Khao Phra Viharn in Thai language) to Cambodia shocked the Thai public.
Few issues have aroused such widespread public indignation, among even peasants and villagers, as did this decision of the court. In dealing with the popular outburst of emotion against the Cambodians, the Sarit government had to use all the power and persuasiveness at its command to keep the situation under control and to prevent dissident and subversive elements from using it to try to discredit and perhaps to upset the regime (Nuechterlein 1965:250, cited in Keyes 1991:278-9)
1970: Diplomatic relations between Thailand and Cambodia are reestablished by the Lon Nol Cambodian government and Preah Vihear is reopened to the public as a tourist destination.
1975: Khmer Rouge regime takes over Cambodia and its troops take up positions on the mountain. The area around Preah Vihear is heavily mined and the ruins become inaccessible.
August 1998: With the remnants of the Khmer Rouge army defeated, the Cambodian government reopens Preah Vihear as an international tourist site so that visitors can vies the beauty of the ruins.
10 October 2001: Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen officially requested to the Director-General of UNESCO the inclusion of Preah Vihear and Banteay Chhmar into the World Heritage List under the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
June 23-July 2 2007: At the 31 session of the World Heritage Committee in Christchurch, New Zealand, Preah Vihear temple was nominated as world heritage site.
The State Party of Cambodia and the State Party of Thailand are in full agreement that the Sacred Site of the Temple of Preah Vihear has Outstanding Universal Value and must be inscribed on the World Heritage List as soon as possible. Accordingly, Cambodia and Thailand agree that Cambodia will propose the site for formal inscription on the World Heritage List at the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in 2008 with the active support of Thailand.
22 May 2008: Joint Communique between Cambodia and Thailand
July 2, 2008: At the 32nd Session of World Heritage Committee opens in Quebec, Canada, Preah Temple was officially included into the world heritage list.
July 15, 2008: Thailand sent troops to the border and in response Cambodia also sent troops to the border
At the request of Cambodia, United Nations has included the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia in its emergency session scheduled on July 24.
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