Thread: Thailand Cancels Oil And Gas Pact With Cambodia

Thailand Cancels Oil And Gas Pact With Cambodia
By D. Arul Rajoo
November 06, 2009

BANGKOK, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Thailand has cancelled an eight-year-old memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cambodia on the oil and gas-rich overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand as it continues its feud with its neighbour.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the MoU was signed in June, 2001, when Thaksin Shinawatra was the Prime Minister.

"The MoU was pushed by Thaksin and he knew the details of the negotiations. We cannot negotiate anymore based on this MoU as it will affect our economy and security," said Kasit, who is currently attending the two-day Mekong sub-region summit in Japan, in a telephone interview with the media here.

Kasit said as there was not much progress made since the MoU was signed, the government felt that it should be scrapped so that it can find new ways to start afresh in dealing with the Cambodian side.

Tension between the two neighbours rose again Thursday when Bangkok recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh as a form of retaliation over Cambodia's decision to appoint the fugitive Thaksin as its economic advisor.

Cambodia immediately followed suit by pulling back its ambassador to Thailand.

Under the agreement signed in 2001, Thailand and Cambodia, which share 26,000 square kilometres of overlapping area, agreed to delimit and develop as a joint development area for oil and gas exploration.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen caused stir during the recent 15th Asean Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, when he first announced his intention to appoint Thaksin and to allow him to stay in Cammbodia.

Both countries have been on loggerhead since last year when Thailand protested Cambodia's move to list the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site. Soldiers from sides had clashed on several occasions.

Both Thai Prime Minister Abhisit vejjajiva and Hun Sen are expected to hold talks over the latest dispute in Tokyo on the sidelines of the Mekong Summit.

Kasit's secretary, Chawanon Intarakomalyasut, told reporters here that so far there was no decision to close borders between the two countries, adding that it was up to the security forces to monitor the situation and take necessary measures.

bernama.com

That'll learn em....

Just the beginning.

Ante upped....

So is the M16 better than the AK. Looks like we might find out.

which is better the Thai army or the Cambodians?

Unite the Thai people if it kicks off, just waiting for the jingoism to start now

I suppose that it will give an outside focus to Thais, so they will not keep protesting internally

bit like the Malvinas did for Thatcher

vege and his yellows has really thrown his teddy out of the pram this time.who do they think they are domineering neighbouring countries about who can live there .

Thailand has cancelled

lets back peddle to cabinet discussing the matter next Tuesday

might be wrong but is not the largest yeild in Cambodian waters?

This situation is unravelling itself perfectly for the Thai Government, cant imagine where Thaksins goes from here

Down the toilet, with all the other shit, I hope

This could be what it takes to unite the Thai people, an outside conflict. I can not see this blowing up into a full scale military conflict, as the wiser leaders in Asia will intervene before that is allowed to happen. The biggest problem, as I see it, is there is too much face to be lost here on both sides. We all know how the Asians love their face.

Hun Sen is provoking a conflict - why?

Can Mr T. really be worth all the trouble that the Cambodians are heaping upon themselves? Maybe Hun Sen will relinguish his interest in Taksin in exchange for a lesser interest by the Thai's in a certain temple.

Originally Posted by BillyBobThai

This could be what it takes to unite the Thai people, an outside conflict. I can not see this blowing up into a full scale military conflict, as the wiser leaders in Asia will intervene before that is allowed to happen. The biggest problem, as I see it, is there is too much face to be lost here on both sides. We all know how the Asians love their face.

I don't know if such a petty and insignificant issue, as this is, would really unify such 'national' emotion. I believe that some circles put more emphasis {love/hate/indifference} upon the instigator T-Squared than the politically vested situations deserve.

Originally Posted by ItsRobsLife

I think people underestimate the willingness of Cambodians to engage Thailand in a conflict.

You obviously mean the generals, because certainly the common people would not be so keen. I'm sure they have seen enough destruction and violence for one life time. Most Cambodian people have been shit on by Hun Sen and the military pigs in government, in fact, most in Cambodia despise the government and all they stand for.

Yeh course they do noodles...

To a Cambo war means money, food, guns... the fact that Pol Pot killed all the intellectuals and pacafists has left Cambodia with a rather psychopathic gene pool.

To a Thai war means giving up fast food and cable TV to go and sit in the jungle and get shot, 20+ years of tourism and western influence has left Thailand with a rather apathetic gene pool.

I don't think it will come to war anyway, many Thais wouldn't want to fight it and the Elite will sow the seeds of their own destruction.

Originally Posted by English Noodles

Originally Posted by ItsRobsLife

Yeh course they do noodles... To a Cambo war means money, food, guns... To a Thai war means giving up fast food and cable TV to go and sit in the jungle and get shot, 20+ years of tourism and western influence has left Thailand with a rather apathetic gene pool.

My Mrs' family live very, very close to the Thai Cambodian border in Si Saket and what you described of the Thai people is certainly not what they are there.

Well I'm no expert either Noodles, just going on the conversations I had with Cambodians in Snooky, PP and Siam Riep, I was interested to find out what their opinion was as the jingoism on the Thai side has been going on for some time, and ther geneneral concensus was as I've stated.

the fact that Pol Pot killed all the intellectuals and pacafists has left Cambodia with a rather psychopathic gene pool.

That's not a fact, you will find more intellectuals were displaced to other areas of the country than were killed under the KR. For example, most of the fisherman and market traders along the coast used to be professionals such as Doctors, teachers and nurses 20 + years ago. Conflict is the last thing that the common Cambodian wants.

Semantics Noodles, killed and/or displaced the net result is the same. Conflict is the last the common man on either side wants, only a fool welcomes war, but behind the rhetoric I think the Cambodians have a disposition that would be more willing than the average Thai.

Have a nice weekend.

Originally Posted by ItsRobsLife

Semantics Noodles, killed and/or displaced the net result is the same.

Absolute rubbish IRL: it's not semantics whether someone is killed or displaced because the end result of the former is DEATH and the end result of the latter is LIFE...ask the people who were displaced and I'm sure they'll tell you where to stick you 'semantics'...

The end result we are talking about, or at least I am, is the impoverishment of the Cambodian gene pool, as well as the effect on education, values and aspirations.

So wether they were killed or displaced the net result is the same.

Obviously the only benefactor in this situation is old square face himself.
He is a coward in not facing up to the consequences of ripping off his fellow Thais.
It does not take 1 week to transact a 76 billion Baht deal to sell his AIS to Singapore. One week after cabinet approved the lifting to 49% of foreign ownership of a telecom company the Singaporean company bought AIS.
Unfortunately no Thia media has pursued this situation to expose him as a man for himself and stuff everybody else.