via South China Morning Post, 08 September 2021: A SCMP roundup of the recent internet spat between Cambodia and Thailand over shared heritage and cultural appropriation.
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.
Pictures of the scaffolded structure were recently posted on social media and commentators in Cambodia were quick to condemn its likeness to Angkor Wat. On July 6, Phnom Penh-based English-language newspaper the Khmer Times even went so far as to call it a “replica”, something that the abbot behind the building of Sihanakhon has denied.
“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.”
