Khaosod English
Why We Cannot Leave Thailand–Cambodia Relations to Our Governments Alone
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It was another precarious week for Thailand–Cambodia relations, judging by several incidents over the past few days. Some were entirely unnecessary. There was also a missed opportunity at last month’s ASEAN Summit: Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Manet, couldn’t even hold a bilateral meeting by themselves without the mediation of ASEAN chair Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the president of the Philippines.
Key facts
- It was another precarious week for Thailand–Cambodia relations, judging by several incidents over the past few days
- This spoke volumes about the continuing distrust between the two sides, five months after the ceasefire in late December
- With the 2001 MoU unilaterally revoked by the Thai side in a Cabinet resolution on 5 May, this week also saw Cambodia publicly pursuing a settlement to the maritime border disputes through UNCLOS, or the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Thailand cannot simply withdraw from the 2001 agreement that had guided negotiations on overlapping maritime claims and expect Cambodia not to resort to an alternative channel to settle the dispute in what it perceives to be its best
Summary
This spoke volumes about the continuing distrust between the two sides, five months after the ceasefire in late December. Anutin may also be wary of giving ammunition to Thais who suspect that any private discussion with the Cambodian leader could involve a secret deal, as critics once alleged of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Two decades after it was signed, Thailand revoked the 2001 memorandum of understanding on maritime disputes late last month.
As if the situation were not precarious enough, Thailand this week built a large Buddha statue along the border, which led to a protest from Cambodia, which claimed that the statue had been built on Cambodian soil occupied by Thailand.