As Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pursues closer ties with neighbouring Cambodia, he is also under pressure to speed up, set clear timelines and procedures for negotiations on the two countries’ overlapping claims over areas in the Gulf of Thailand.
Thailand is in a rush to settle its maritime dispute and also quickly tap abundant petroleum resources for energy security.
Srettha had discussed the matter with Hun Manet during the Cambodian prime minister’s official visit to Thailand on February 7. “As Thailand and Cambodia import huge amounts of natural fuel every year, we discussed and agreed to strengthen our cooperation in the field of energy security,” Srettha told a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting with Hun Manet.
“In this regard, we agreed to further discuss the joint exploration of the hydrocarbon resources in the Overlapping Claims Area between the two countries,” he said.
Different continental shelf claims since the 1970s have created an overlapping area of 26,000 square kilometers in the Gulf of Thailand, which potentially contains up to 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas as well as 500 million barrels of condensates and oil.
The Thai government is desperately searching for a new source of natural gas as domestic deposits are running dry, and there is mounting political pressure caused by higher electricity prices, besides the heavy financial burden of subsidising energy.
Last year, Thailand consumed 4,400 million cubic feet a day: 50 per cent of the supply came from domestic production, 20 per cent from Myanmar, and the rest was imported from the global market, according to the Energy Ministry.
Experts in the energy sector have praised the bilateral move but want the two countries to accelerate negotiations, as it would take at least 5 years for the exploration and development of petroleum resources before it would be ready for consumption.
Komkrit Tantrawanich, secretary-general of the Energy Regulatory Commission, warned that the negotiations on the joint development should not take too long because alternative energy in future could deflate the price and value of natural gas, making it too cheap to be worth the huge investment.
Prime Minister Srettha posted in his X social media account on February 9, in reply to a ThaiRath columnist, that he was accelerating the process to resume talks on energy development in the overlapping claims areas with Cambodia.
The columnist, Mae Look Chan, expressed disappointment over the outcome of the Srettha-Hun Manet meeting, which failed to set a timeline for the long-delayed negotiations.
Negotiations with Cambodia on the matter have made no significant progress since June 2001 when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding their overlapping maritime claims to the continental shelf.
Technical issues, domestic political troubles, and sour relations between the two countries over the past two decades contributed to the delay.
Two issues in one package
Experts and executives of energy firms want the government to prioritize joint development as a quick solution to extract hydrocarbon resources in the overlapping claims areas over the more difficult issue of delimitation of the territorial sea.
Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga sparked the idea a few months ago of resuming negotiations with Cambodia regarding the disputes in the overlapping claims areas for the sake of energy security. He suggested focusing on the joint development scheme, rather than delimitation of the sea boundary.
The chief executive officer of PTT Exploration and Production, Montri Rawanchaikul, echoed the same message, asking the government to halt negotiations on the maritime boundary and give more importance to the joint development.
Srettha, however, made it clear that the government needed to give importance to both issues. “We attach importance to the maritime delimitation and agreed to discuss the issue simultaneously with the exploitation of the hydrocarbon resources,” he said in the press statement.
The 2001 MOU cited that the negotiations for the delimitation of the sea boundary must be conducted simultaneously with the joint development scheme as an indivisible package.
No territory loss
Srettha said he would instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consult with other concerned authorities, including the Ministry of Energy and the Royal Thai Navy, on further discussions with the Cambodian side.
The premier’s instruction meant that Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, and not Energy Minister Pirapan as earlier expected, would lead the negotiations with Cambodia. The participation of the Navy indicates that the boundary issue remains a high priority.
Parnpree was obligated to establish and co-chair with his Cambodian counterpart a joint technical committee that was made up of officials and experts on energy, legal matters notably laws on the sea, security, and maps for the negotiations.
The foreign minister told local media that he would not allow the territorial dispute to undermine the negotiations on jointly tapping petroleum resources in the overlapping claims areas.
“We also have to make sure that we do not lose a single inch of our territorial sea in the negotiation,” Parnpree said, referring to concerns of loss of territory raised by conservative figures earlier. “No worry, no hidden agenda. I will do the right and acceptable things for the people,” he said.
Senator Khamnoon Sitthisaman had earlier demanded that the government settle the maritime boundary dispute with Cambodia before negotiating for a joint development scheme to avoid territorial loss.
Talks to resolve the territorial dispute with Cambodia have been a nightmare for Thai politicians and negotiators, as many of them were labeled as treasonous for any compromises or trade-offs with their Cambodian counterparts.
Ruling Pheu Thai MP Noppadon Pattama was forced by the establishment elite and the yellow shirt protesters to step down as foreign minister after he signed a joint communique to support the inscription of the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.
Noppadon, now the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, voiced support for the government’s move to speed up negotiations for the sake of energy security.
Khamnoon, a key member of the former yellow shirt movement, said the issue of overlapping claims areas would be raised to grill the government when the Senate opens a general debate in March.
However, observers and sources in the energy industry anticipated that the opposing voices would not be as strident as a decade ago when the establishment elite and the yellow-shirt movement had the common goal of toppling former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s proxy governments.
Strategic partnership
Good relations between the two countries would benefit the maritime border settlement. During the visit, both sides agreed to elevate the diplomatic ties to a “strategic partnership”, paving the way to work together closely, Srettha said.
To strengthen the relationship, Thailand will open a new consulate office in Siem Reap, while Cambodia will open its own in Songkhla province this year.
Srettha reassured Hun Manet that his government would not allow anyone to use Thailand as a platform to interfere in the internal affairs or conduct harmful activities against neighboring countries.
Corroborating the PM’s commitment, Thai police arrested three Cambodian activists including Kun Raiya, a former member of the opposition Candlelight Party, a few days before Hun Manet’s visit. Deputy National Police chief Surachate Hakparn, however, promised not to deport them to Cambodia.
The two countries pledged to strengthen cooperation to fight transnational crimes, especially cyber scam networks.
Also during Hun Manet’s visit, the two countries signed five MOUs to forge cooperation in various fields.
Three MOUs signed by government agencies of both sides were on disaster risk reduction and emergency responses; academic, scientific, and technology cooperation, and the transit of goods.
The Cambodia Chamber of Commerce signed two MOUs to promote trade and investment; one with Thailand’s EXIM Bank and another with the Board of Trade of Thailand.
By Thai PBS World’s Political Desk
