A joint technical committee (JTC) is expected to be set up in the next two weeks to commence talks with Cambodia on development of the overlapping claim area in the Gulf of Thailand, within the framework of MoU 44, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said today.
Meanwhile, former chief of the National Security Centre Lt-Gen Nanthadet Meksawat is warning about potential claims over Kut Island by Cambodia in the future, citing the case of the Preah Vihear Temple, which was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice on June 15th, 1962.
Writing in his Facebook post today, he said Thailand lost the ancient Hindu ruins and its surrounding area to Cambodia in a court case, based on the principle of “tacit acceptance.”
He said that the Siamese government did not object to the map drawn by French colonialists, regarding the demarcation line between Siam and Cambodia, and the late Prince Damrong Rajanubhab was received by the French governor general when he visited the ancient ruins.
The two incidents were subsequently interpreted as signs of Siam’s tacit acceptance of the French colonialists’ claim, that the temple is located on Cambodian soil, said Nanthadet, adding that Cambodian people were also sent to occupy land around the ruins without protest from the Thai government.
“These incidents may appear to be insignificant, but they have been used by Cambodia to support its territorial claims,” he warned.
This explains why Thais are worried that the country may lose Kut Island to Cambodia as a result of MoU 44, said Nanthadet.
He said that Cambodian maritime territory in the Gulf, as defined by its unilateral drawing of the continental shelf line, is not in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This prompted Thailand to draw its own continental shelf line, resulting in the creation of an overlapping area of about 26,000 square kilometres.
Gen Nanthadet noted that MoU 44 was signed during the administration of Thaksin Shinawatra, accepting the 50:50 sharing of undersea natural resources in the overlapping area, despite the area being Thai territory.
“What if Cambodia takes the case to the International Court of Justice, to claim Kut Island as its territory?” he asked, adding “don’t think it is impossible.”
Cambodia has also claimed Muay Thai and Songkran as belonging to Cambodia, he said.
