Emerald Triangle (Southeast Asia)
The Emerald Triangle is the shared border region between Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. It includes the area of Chong Bok (Thai: ช่องบก), a mountain pass through the Dangrek Range, which forms much of the natural boundary between Thailand and Cambodia. In Cambodia, the area is known as Mom Bei (Khmer: មុំបី).
The Emerald Triangle name was coined in 2000 as a project for international cooperation to promote tourism and economic development in the area. The name, referring to the area's lush environment, is a play on the pre-existing Golden Triangle region between Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. In the broader sense, the Emerald Triangle covers areas in seven provinces among the three countries: Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Stung Treng in Cambodia, Salavan and Champasak in Laos, and Ubon Ratchathani and Sisaket in Thailand.[1] In the narrow sense, it refers to the boundary tripoint between the three countries, which lies near the Chong Bok pass. The pass has an elevation of 330 metres (1,080 ft).[2]
From 1985 to 1987, during the Third Indochina War, the Chong Bok area was a site of armed clashes as Vietnamese forces made incursions into the Cambodian–Thai border region where the Khmer Rouge were based.[3] Following the end of hostilities, a pavilion was built at the tripoint as a symbol of amity in 1993.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "สามเหลี่ยมมรกต (Emerald Triangle)". Department of International Economic Affairs (in Thai). 18 April 2012 – 30 November 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ↑ "บก". Gazetteer of Thailand (in Thai). Office of the Royal Society. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ↑ Wisaijorn, Thanachate (30 June 2024). "จากสนามรบช่องบกสู่สนามการค้าสามเหลี่ยมมรกต: ความทรงจำ (ที่ไม่หายไป) ในความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ" [From the Battlefields of Chong Bok to the Marketplaces of Emerald Triangle: The (Missing) Piece Of Memory In International Relations]. Political Science and Public Administration Journal (in Thai). 15 (Suppl. 1): 169–198. ISSN 2985-2269.
- ↑ Supatn, Nucharee (2012). "Regional Development of the Golden and Emerald Triangle Areas: Thai Perspective". In Ishida, Masami (ed.). Five Triangle Areas in The Greater Mekong Subregion. BRC Research Report. Vol. 11. Bangkok, Thailand: Bangkok Research Center, IDE-JETRO. pp. 185–187.