PUBLISHED: 23 Nov 2024 at 05: 58
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra demands that the government support a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) between Thailand and Cambodia regarding their overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand.
A joint technical committee (JTC ) is expected to be formed this month, she said.
Mr Paetongtarn on Friday responded to a complaint submitted by Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, deputy director of the Thai Pakdee Party, and a group of patriots, calling for the replacing of the MoU.
Sompas Nilphan, a management advisor to the PM’s office’s continuous minister, received the complaint.
The 2001 Thai-Cambodian Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU 44 ), which serves as the framework for discussions about Thailand and Cambodia’s overlapping claims to the continental shelf, should be canceled, according to Dr. Warong in the petition.
He claimed that the withdrawal had safeguard Thai sea sources.
The organization claimed in the complaint that negotiations should only be supported if they are supported by international law.
The group demanded that Phnom Penh’s government fully adhere to the 1982 treaty establishing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) first and that Cambodia be accused of deliberatingly drawing maritime boundaries.
The petition urges the Thai authorities to refuse to share the benefits of nautical power exploration in the contested area, fearing that this will result to Thailand losing its maritime territory.
Dr. Warong claimed that the current government had often resisted criticism of Cambodia during the earlier JTCs and that they had been ineffective.
He also challenged the state to a public discussion, saying its one-sided tale has caused distress.
Responding to Dr Warong’s complaint, Ms Paetongtarn said:” We did not share places, but we share common interests in terms of natural oil”.
Sharing gains is a crucial issue that we must examine based on the MoU, according to Ms. Paetongtarn.
She even questioned the plaintiffs ‘ motivations for wanting to withdraw the MoU.
She emphasized that there will be debate and the important theories regarding the matter, and that a new JTC may be established this month.