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Cambodia protests India's plan to build replica of iconic Angkor Wat Temple

Xinhua, June 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cambodia has protested an Indian company, Mahavir Mandir Trust, for its plan to build a near- replica of Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat Temple, a spokesman said Saturday. "Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation had sent a protest note to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in order to stop Mahavir Mandir Trust from constructing a temple that copies from our Cambodian Angkor Wat Temple," Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said in a news statement. "The protest note states that the Royal Government of Cambodia sees the construction in the replication of our Cambodian Angkor Wat Temple for commercial purposes as a serious violation of the world heritage property, which holds outstanding universal value," he said. "Moreover, the Angkor Wat Temple is the emblem that has been used in the Cambodian national flag for many centuries."

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has requested the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to stop the company from constructing a replica of Angkor Wat Temple so as to maintain historically traditional relations between the two countries and peoples.

The protest note came after Mahavir Mandir Trust unveiled its plan to build a near-replica of Angkor Wat Temple in India's Bihar province. According to the blueprint, the proposed temple resembling Angkor Wat will be 115 meters tall with 18 spires and spread across 81 hectares of land.

Located in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, Angkor Wat Temple, inscribed in the UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1992, is the country's most popular tourist destination.

According to the latest government figures, the 12th century site attracted 842,719 foreign tourists in the first four months of this year, earning 24.1 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales.

On Tuesday, TripAdvisor placed Angkor Wat as the world's No. 1 landmark in the 2015 Traveler's Choice Landmarks Awards. Endi