A new Thai temple bears a likeness to Angkor Wat, and Cambodian internet users are not happy about it
- Pictures of a structure under scaffolding in Thailand were posted online, and commentators in Cambodia were quick to condemn its likeness to their pride and joy
- Cultural and political tensions between the two countries have long been complicated when it comes to temples and claims over their sovereignty
Angkor Wat is one of the most famous temples in the world. Before the coronavirus stopped tourists from travelling around Asia, the 12th century Hindu complex in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province attracted 2.2 million visitors in 2019.
In contrast, Sihanakhon, a temple complex under construction in Thailand’s Buriram province, is not a name many will be familiar with. Unless, perhaps, you are Cambodian and spend time on the internet.
“The recent news of the construction of a replica of Angkor Wat in Thailand has sparked an outcry among Cambodians,” reported the Khmer Times. “Pictures of the Thai construction, which is almost entirely an imitation of the iconic Angkor Wat, were shared on social media, and Cambodians had no holds barred in making their dissatisfaction and concern over the issue known online.”
Internet users argued that “due to Angkor Wat’s status as a World Heritage Site, according to international law, the temple cannot be replicated”, the report continued.
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Sihanakhon was indeed inspected by the authorities, albeit Thai ones. “Officials inspected the Sihanakhon complex project at Wat Phu Man Fah in Nang Rong district of Buriram on Wednesday after Cambodians took to social media criticising it as an attempt to build a second Angkor Wat,” reported the Bangkok Post, Thailand’s major English-language newspaper, on July 7.
“Temple abbot Somsak Sungwarajitto told the visiting delegation led by provincial cultural office chief Khattiya Chaimanee that the project was born of his imagination and vision. He rejected the suggestion it was a replica of Angkor Wat or any other site,” it said.
Construction of the Thai temple complex began in 2020 on about 32 hectares of “temple ground”. The Khmer Times reported that it is expected to take about seven or eight years to complete.
After the inspection, Khattiya reportedly said that Sihanakhon reflected “a combination of several famous sites – such as Prasat Hin Phimai, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Prasat Hin Phanom Rung, in Buriram, and Borobudur, in Central Java, Indonesia”, while a Buriram-based archaeologist, Sommart Pholkerd, told the Bangkok Post that Thailand’s northeastern region not only shared a border with Cambodia but also similar cultural influences and these were often reflected in religious structures.
“The issue should be seen from a cultural perspective, instead of a political one,” reported the Bangkok Post.
However, cultural and political tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have long been complicated when it comes to temples, as illustrated by the persistent Preah Vihear dispute. Another Unesco site, the temple, which stands on the border between the two Southeast Asian nations, was the focus of a decades-long row over its sovereignty.
Which might have been the end of the matter had Thailand not built a miniature model of Preah Vihear on its side of the border, in 2016. “A scaled-down replica of the ancient Preah Vihear temple, announced with fanfare last week as a tourist drawcard, is likely to be demolished to prevent harming relations with Cambodia,” reported the Bangkok Post in May 2016. It never opened to visitors.
Thankfully, the shots being fired over Sihanakhon have all been online rather than from actual guns, and could soon be silenced rationally and in person. Imagine that! On August 25, the Khmer Times reported that Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture planned to send a team to “check on” the new Thai temple. “This comes after Cambodia requested Thailand provide blueprints and information related to the construction of the temple,” the article continues.
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After studying Sihanakhon’s floor plan, Vong Sotheara, director of the department of history at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, told the Khmer Times that “Cambodia should study more about this construction”, adding that while “the floor layout of Angkor Wat is similar as well as the towers, the decoration of the towers is in an older style than the period when Angkor Wat was built”.
He added that “every nation in the world today has a national identity to be proud of and protect which unifies its people”. Without doubt, Angkor Wat is a symbol of Cambodia and a site of which its people should feel justifiably proud. Without a similar history and cultural significance, Sihanakhon is unlikely to hold a candle to Angkor, whatever the new kid on the block looks like.
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