OCA however a thorn in relations with Cambodia
PUBLISHED: 10 Jan 2025 at 05: 26
A public forum will be held in the late evening of this month to get feedback on the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) on maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand, which, according to the government, is at the heart of a long-running maritime territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa made the revelation during an interpellation by Piyarat Chongthep, a People’s Party ( PP ) MP for Bangkok, in a House session on Thursday.
According to Mr. Maris, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate the platform with a number of House standing committees.
Previous opposition leader Sondhi Limthongkul, who led a motion for the ensuing MoU, has been calling on the government to hold a public forum, despite the fact that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had previously rejected the idea.
She merely promised that the government would consider all viewpoints before making any subsequent decisions regarding the MoU.
According to Mr. Maris, the government has not yet done everything in relation to this arrangement, which requires that Thailand and Cambodia engage in discussions regarding the likelihood of them using natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand’s overlapping claims place.
The commission has yet to be formed, he said.
Mr Sondhi said the MoU had created an overlapping claims area ( OCA ) covering 26, 000 square kilometres, mainly benefiting Cambodia. It is thought that the OCA has a lot of fossil fuel sources.
The MoU, which was signed with Cambodia during the Thaksin Shinawatra leadership, authorized Cambodia to establish, based on international laws, in 1973, that its territorial waters belonged to Indian maritime authorities as defined by King Rama IX. Critics worry that there will be a reduction of autonomy.
A group of protesters led by Mr. Sondhi threatened to increase their rallies at a meeting outside Government House late last month if the government continued to ignore their request to have the MoU removed.
Mr. Piyarat was questioned during the House meeting whether the government was still holding its breath when it outlined its intention to deal with Cambodia about the advantages of developing simultaneously natural resources in the region.
He questioned how, if Thailand were to pursue this strategy, the government would maintain its sovereignty over the overlapping claims place.