Tour intended to proclaim say in a dispute
PUBLISHED: 8 Nov 2024 at 04: 45
In light of the ongoing dispute over Cambodia’s maritime territory, Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai may travel to Koh Kut in Trat on Saturday to reaffirm Thailand’s regional authority over the beach.
Mr. Phumtham, who also serves as deputy prime minister, promised to lead a team inspecting the area and raising morale among soldiers stationed there to protect the Thai-Cambodian boundary.
The Defence Ministry’s permanent director and secretary-general, as well as the Royal Thai Navy chief-of-staff, may also join the group, he said.
” We will go there to establish Thailand’s sovereignty over Koh Kut and increase confidence among local people”, he said.
When asked about the establishment of a Joint Technical Committee (JTC ) to negotiate the maritime areas claimed by both nations, Mr. Phumtham stated that the Foreign Affairs Ministry was in charge of the matter and that they would soon make recommendations to the cabinet.
In the following two weeks, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had previously stated that the JTC may become established. On the basis of the memorandum of understanding signed by the two nations in 2001, the committee will resume discussions with Cambodia regarding the Overlapping Claims Area ( OCA ).
The energy-rich OCA, which extends over 26, 000 sq kilometers in the Gulf of Thailand, is both under the control of Thailand and Cambodia.
Cambodia made its first say in 1972, which Thailand rejected. The next year, Thailand made its suit.
The committee, which will be led by a deputy prime minister in charge of regional stability, will be led by Mr. Phumtham on Thursday, and will include representatives from the Council of the State, the Defense, Energy, Foreign, and Finance departments, as well as other key figures.
Two more departments will also be formed to help with the conversations, Mr Phumtham said.
” I hope that the government’s work relating to the clashing says area will help clean the air”, he said.
When asked about the state that Thailand lost autonomy over the area when it signed the 2001 MoU with Cambodia, Mr Phumtham said the “false information” was politically motivated.
” The area has been a piece of Thailand’s place for a long time”, he said.
Mr. Phumtham responded to critics who demanded that the government withdraw the 2001 MoU because it was deemed to be the most effective forum for discussions and negotiations over the maritime borders between the nations.
The authorities made the names as Cambodia and Cambodia resumed discussions on the OCA.
Paiboon Nititawan, secretary-general of the Palang Pracharath Party ( PPRP ), said on Thursday that party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon has instructed the party’s MPs to push for the revocation of the 2001 MoU” to protect Thailand’s maritime sovereignty”.
In 2001, when the Thaksin Shinawatra leadership was in power, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop portions of the OCA and mark a maritime border.
The maritime boundary separation and shared creation must be carried out as an “indivisible package,” with a Thailand-Cambodia JTC set up to examine them under the MoU.
Numerous rounds of discussions have been held since, but there has not been any headway, primarily because of the debate over the coastal wall’s demarcation.
After observers made the point that if the file is used as the basis for discussions on managing the OCA, Thailand could lose its sovereignty over Koh Kut.