Move to ditch martime MoU short-sighted

The government's move to scrap the maritime deal with Cambodia is not a "hit where it hurts" decision as it is based on sketchy information over interests in the overlapping areas in the Gulf of Thailand.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in Phnom Penh upon arrival from Tokyo yesterday that termination of the deal was not good for both neighbours.

It's like you wrote with your hand but deleted it with your foot," he said. "Who can trust you if the new government does not honour treaties the previous government signed?"

Inner circles of the Thai government, which drove the diplomatic moves to retaliate against Hun Sen's decision to appoint former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as his adviser, believe Thaksin and Hun Sen would benefit from the maritime pact.

The government's reason for deciding to end the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cambodia - on the areas of their overlapping maritime claims to the continental shelf - was that Thaksin had a
The former prime minister used to be the chief negotiator for Thailand but has turned himself to the other side, said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The government's argument is not based on solid logic. Being an adviser to another country is not simply equivalent to betraying the home country. In the modern world, many former leaders of countries could be appointed as advisers to other countries.
Singaporean Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew used to be an adviser to Vietnam while Singapore had many deals with the country. South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak has been an economic adviser to Hun Sen since 2000 during which time the two countries have had many economic negotiations.
The true reason for the government's decision is that Thaksin is the enemy of the ruling Democrat Party and many obligations he entered into in the past should not be carried out.
In practice, the five-article MoU signed on June 18, 2001 by then foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Cambodian deputy prime minister Sok An agreed on two things - defining a joint development area in the sea, and delimiting the territorial sea.
The joint committee has made no progress in accordance with the agreement since then. With or without the MoU, disputes in the sea remain and the two sides have no proper solution.
The dispute in the sea has a long history since Cambodia announced its continental shelf in 1972 and Thailand in 1973, resulting in the creation of a 26,000-square-kilometre overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand. They agreed over the past years that the area above Latitude 11 degrees North would be the area of delimitation, and the area below that line would be a joint development area to exploit hydrocarbon resources.
They believed there is abundant natural gas in the area. Thailand has granted concessions to petroleum companies since 1968, long before the announcement of a continental shelf, while Cambodia started to do the same in 1997.
However, no company can implement the concessions since they are in the disputed area, said Admiral Thanom Charoenlap, an adviser to the government. What the two countries have done over the past years is simply concession booking, said the admiral who has given advice on maritime boundaries to Thai governments for decades.
To Thailand's concern, Cambodia has granted more concessions to foreign petroleum companies in many areas including those in the overlapping areas, and Thaksin's hand might also be involved. Concession in the overlapping areas might not be enforced, but there are many sites in Cambodia's area that could be explored.
Nobody has accurate information on Thaksin's interest in the petroleum deal in Cambodia, inside or outside the overlapping areas. Most government officials have doubts about any. Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said on the day when the decision was made to revoke the MoU that his government was looking into whether Thaksin really had any stake in the deal.
Ditching the maritime MoU will not cause any effects in real terms, but it could further delay the joint development area projects between the two countries. Economically speaking, the delay means the two countries will miss opportunities to exploit the resources. Simply put, this country has more opportunities than Cambodia to lose.

Thaksin to visit Phnom Penh

Hun Sen warns any move to close borders would hurt Thai businesses more

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday that fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would visit Phnom Penh on Thursday to give a lecture on economic matters.

Hun Sen, who has appointed Thaksin as his economic adviser, told a news conference at Phnom Penh airport that Thaksin will address a group of 300 Cambodians.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he would seek Thaksin's extradition as soon as the fugitive former Prime Minister landed in Cambodia.
While relationship between the two neighbouring countries has been tense after Hun Sen's appointment of Thaksin as his economic adviser, the Cambodian said yesterday that the situation on the border with Thailand was calm. He also said he had decided to pull out special troops from the area near Preah Vihear Temple within a week.
However, Hun Sen said Thailand should not close the border as it would more hurt Thai businesses more than Cambodians.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit on his weekly programme yesterday encouraged Thais to express dissatisfaction over the Cambodian decision to appoint Thaksin an economic adviser and over criticism of the Thai justice system.
"Today, I want to invite all Thais to show unity and take a stand that we want to be and have a good neighbour. It must be based on the expression of mutual sincerity and respect," he said. "I think no Thai wants to see Thailand being taken advantage of. [Thais] don't want to see Thailand discredited by any other country."
Thaksin posted on a Twitter message that he would talk on the issue in his online radio programme tomorrow.
"You might be wondering why I'm silent on Cambodia. I say I'll let the government and the Foreign Ministry to be extremely crazy. And I'll talk on radio on November 10," he said.
Democrat MPs held a press conference supporting Abhisit's request. However, Bhum Jai Thai spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the government should be careful not to hurt businesses of Thai investors in Cambodia.
"We can say the government's measures so far have been enough to teach Cambodia a lesson while Abhisit has enjoyed critical support. But to prevent more rifts both the Thai and Cambodian governments should reduce their bias and talk for the sake of their countries. For example, the two countries had lost the chance to enjoy joint benefits from tourism and cultural promotion while arguing on who occupied the overlapping areas.
Abhisit said during the programme, "I want to tell Thais who used to visit Cambodia just for gambling, please stop for now to show that if [Cambodia] wants all business to return to normal, the Cambodian government should treat us appropriately in terms of mutual sincerity and respect."
However, about 60 per cent of casinos in Cambodia are owned by Thais.
"The Cambodian statement insisted that Cambodia would not proceed with this [Thaksin's extradition] and criticised both Thai politics, and most importantly the Thai justice system questioning issues related to the court, fairness. I think Thailand and Thai people cannot accept this. All of this is not about political conflicts within our country but this is what all of us must assert on the legitimacy and dignity of our core institution, which is the justice system," Abhisit said.
Abhisit said his government had treated Thai-Cambodian conflicts carefully. Although it decided to lower bilateral relationship by recalling the ambassador, it was keeping in mind not to hurt people-to-people relations and border trade, and avoid tension or violence along the border. He said the conflict would not hurt regional cooperation such as Asean and Mekong countries.
Abhisit said general relations between Thailand and Cambodia are in good condition with cooperation on many issues. Territorial disputes such as Preah Vihear Temple as well as overlapping land and maritime areas were considered normal for neighbouring countries and are dealt with through peaceful diplomatic negotiations. He cited road construction as an example of Thailand's support for Cambodia and cooperation among Asean countries. Abhisit also said Hun Sen had always said to him in the past 10 months that he would not let his relationship with fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra deteriorate or undermine the two countries' relationship.
Warning Cambodia of being misinformed, Abhisit said he had asked his Cambodian counterpart to reconsider the decision to appoint Thaksin an adviser. He said the appointment could be unfair to Thailand as Thaksin must have known lots of information. He added that the appointment of Thaksin would force Thailand to reconsider the framework of negotiation on the maritime natural resources benefit sharing.