Senate panel backs ending MOU 2001 with Cambodia, cites “breaches” and lack of progress
A Senate study panel voted unanimously to recommend scrapping the 2001 Thailand–Cambodia MOU, citing alleged breaches and stalled maritime talks
Senator Noppadon Inna, chairman of the Senate’s special committee studying the pros and cons of ending the 2000 and 2001 MOUs on Thailand–Cambodia border issues, said the panel has unanimously recommended cancelling the 2001 MOU (MOU 2544).
Senator Noppadon Inna, chairman of the Senate’s special committee studying the pros and cons of ending the Thailand–Cambodia MOUs, said the panel unanimously recommended cancelling the 2001 MOU (MOU 2544) for these reasons:
- Cambodia’s 1972 continental shelf line is seen as a clear violation of Thailand’s sovereignty and sovereign rights, and should not be used as any negotiation framework.
- Cambodia has shown clear intent not to comply with the 2001 MOU in practice. Noppadon cited an episode on December 16, 2022, when Cambodia’s technical-side chair reportedly proposed a draft that called for a 50:50 split of petroleum benefits in the overlapping continental shelf claim area south of latitude 11°N, while pausing maritime boundary delimitation talks north of 11°N.
- There has been no progress in maritime boundary negotiations over a long period.
- Cambodia is said to maintain an intent to claim sovereignty over Ko Kut, in whole or at least in part, and has shown no intent to resolve maritime delimitation alongside benefit-sharing.
- The negotiation framework under the MOU cannot deliver practical results.
- The 2001 MOU has gone beyond any reasonable “temporary” period and has become a dead end.
- Political and social conditions—including what the panel described as Cambodia’s lack of sincerity—have undermined the framework.
Noppadon said that if Thailand ends the 2001 MOU, it should pursue a new, more workable temporary arrangement and consider interim measures aimed at safeguarding Thailand’s maritime rights and pressuring Cambodia to return to negotiations. He also said any termination should follow international law, including options under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and added the committee is willing to share its full report informally, as there has not yet been a Senate resolution.
