Council of State says scrapping Thailand-Cambodia MoU 2001 would require fresh agreement on new rules

Pakorn Nilprapunt, Secretary-General of the Council of State, said on Tuesday that Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has instructed officials to study the possibility of cancelling the 2001 MoU with Cambodia (MoU 44).

Pakorn said the prime minister has assigned the Foreign Ministry to examine the matter. Any termination process would need to consider international law and the relevant agreements reached in meetings, to determine whether cancellation is possible. In principle, he said, it can be done, but it involves a formal process and would depend on any conditions attached.

Asked whether, after cancellation, both countries would need to hold talks to draft a new set of rules, Pakorn said it would depend on what the two sides agreed—whether they would “start from scratch” and set new ground rules. He suggested the question should be directed to the Foreign Ministry, adding that he is not a specialist in international law and is more familiar with Thai law.

Separately, when asked about the legal implications of ballot papers containing QR codes and whether that could lead to an election being annulled, Pakorn replied by asking whether anyone had already filed a petition with the court. If the matter has been brought before the court, he said, the public should wait for the court’s ruling and avoid commenting outside the legal process, as interpreting it in different directions would not be helpful.