Sihasak rejects Cambodia’s MOU 44 move, insists talks must follow UNCLOS
Sihasak Phuangketkeow says Thailand will discuss maritime claims with Cambodia only under UNCLOS and insists Koh Kut is clearly Thai territory.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Thailand did not recognise Cambodia’s reported move to register MOU 44 as evidence concerning a boundary line drawn through Koh Kut, insisting that any talks between the two countries must be held only under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Speaking at Government House in Bangkok on Tuesday (May 12), Sihasak was asked about reports that Cambodia had registered the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand and Cambodia on overlapping continental shelf claims, or MOU 44, before the Thai government announced its termination.
He said Cambodia is now a party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the same legal framework Thailand intends to use in future discussions.
“As for MOU 44, we have already terminated it,” Sihasak said, adding that negotiations under UNCLOS would be a constructive approach and would avoid wasting time. However, he said it was still too early to conclude which mechanism would be used.
Asked about Cambodia’s reported registration of MOU 44 as evidence relating to a boundary line allegedly drawn through Thailand’s Koh Kut in Trat province, Sihasak said such a claim could not stand under UNCLOS.
He explained that, under UNCLOS, any boundary issue must be considered within internationally accepted rules of law.
He said he did not know what Cambodia had secretly registered or how it had done so. He added that he only knew that Thailand and Cambodia would hold talks under UNCLOS.
Asked whether the matter would have any effect on Thailand’s Koh Kut, Sihasak said: “If a line is drawn, it will be clear that Koh Kut already belongs to Thailand.”
Thai detained in Cambodia receiving legal assistance
Sihasak also addressed the case of a Thai man detained by Cambodian soldiers on an illegal border-crossing charge while gathering forest products. He said the case was now in the process of receiving legal assistance, including coordination with a lawyer, and that Thai authorities were closely following the matter.
The case followed a post shared online on April 30 by a Facebook account named “Wiparat Thongsaysorn”, which sought help in locating a relative who had entered a forest near the Chong Ta Leng border area before losing contact and failing to return home.
Security agencies, including the military, police and administrative officials, later sent intelligence teams to check the missing man’s home area. He was identified as 58-year-old Yote Sainoi, a forest product gatherer from Prasat district in Surin province. He had left home at around 6pm on April 25 before disappearing without a trace.
Relatives said Yote normally entered the forest for only one or two days before returning home. They believed he may have encountered an unexpected incident or been detained by Cambodian authorities.
His wife, Kannika Homkajorn, filed a missing-person report at Kap Choeng Police Station on April 29, asking officials to help locate him.
On May 4, the Suranaree Task Force was contacted by local police and quickly coordinated with the Cambodian side through the head of the Cambodia-Thailand coordination unit in the O’Smach area.
Cambodian authorities later confirmed that Yote had allegedly entered Cambodian territory illegally. He was arrested on an illegal immigration charge and sent for legal proceedings in Oddar Meanchey province.
