Phnom Penh: The Royal Government has announced that it is investigating the construction of an alleged replica of Angkor Wat in Thailand. Images of building work at Sihanakorn Temple in Thailand’s Buriram Province, over the border from Oddar Meanchey, started surfacing on social media this week. The howls of complaint have been heard by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has instructed the Cambodian Embassy in Thailand to investigate.

Ministry spokesperson, Mr. Koy Kuong, says a detailed investigation is needed as some temples in Thailand have a similar style to Angkor, such as the Phanom Rung Temple, which is also located in Buriram Province. He has emphasized that it first needs to be established if the new project is indeed planned as a replica of Angkor Wat. Pictures of the project, however, would suggest it might be. As a World Heritage Site, Angkor Wat is protected and cannot be replicated.

At the same time, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Mr. Long Ponnasirivath, says the APSARA Authority is also studying the case. Should the project in fact be a replica of Angkor, he says Cambodia will use diplomatic channels to halt construction, as it has done with similar projects in the past.

Just last October, a hotel in Thailand, “Le Palais” was forced to apologise and redesign key aspects of its exterior, after it copied elements of Angkor without permission. Back in 2015, the Indian government shelved plans to build a replica of Angkor Wat after objections from Cambodia.

But there is one replica of Angkor in existence, although not of the main temple itself. “Amazing Angkor” opened in Nanning, China, in 2018. The theme park copies elements of the Bayon Temple and was apparently built in honour of the annual China-ASEAN exhibition, although it remains open to this day.