Demarcation seen as crucial issue for govt
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Thailand should put border demarcation on the national agenda to better address security issues and gain from economic interaction, said Vichit Satharanond, director-general of the Royal Thai Survey Department. Lt-Gen Vichit was echoing the remarks of Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Krit Garnjana-goonchorn, who said at the opening of an international symposium on land and river boundaries on Wednesday that border demarcation would remain important for many countries in the region.
''There are some technical problems [in demarcation], but more importantly it depends on the political will of the government to table it as part of the national agenda so local authorities and people know how to proceed and when it will be settled,'' he said.
Once the issues were agreed internally, Thailand could discuss with neighbours how to leverage off the disputed land.
''Of course, it is a very sensitive issue, but there are examples in other countries of exchange or compensating for overlapping claims which can create mutual prosperity for both sides,'' he said.
Pornpimon Trichote, senior researcher at Chulalongkorn University's Asian Studies Institute, said it was crucial for Thailand and other regional states to clearly demarcate their borders and settle related disputes because foreign investors as well as local and national governments were now eager to make economic gains from developing border areas.
''This government seems to be in a better position to muscle in on this issue for the real benefit of the country,'' she said during an interview on the sidelines of the seminar.
Thailand has made most progress in marking the 698-km border with Malaysia. But agreement on a small part measuring some 8.5 km along the Kolok river has yet to be concluded.
More than 95% of the Thai-Lao border, measuring 1,800 km, has been demarcated. But only 59 km of the 2,401-km-long border with Burma has been completed.
Demarcation of the 798-km-long border with Cambodia started in June.
China said it had demarcated most of its borders with neighbouring countries largely through resettlement of people and developing joint economic zones, changing maps and building markers.
In a summary of the three-day meeting, the International Boundaries Research Unit, co-sponsor of the symposium, said that demarcation required both political and economic strategies.The key issues in river boundary work were navigation capability and access to water, as well as land use of the river banks on both sides.
It was the first international symposium of its kind in Southeast Asia, regarded as a hot-spot of regional conflicts caused by inter-state disputes over unsettled borders.
''There are some technical problems [in demarcation], but more importantly it depends on the political will of the government to table it as part of the national agenda so local authorities and people know how to proceed and when it will be settled,'' he said.
Once the issues were agreed internally, Thailand could discuss with neighbours how to leverage off the disputed land.
''Of course, it is a very sensitive issue, but there are examples in other countries of exchange or compensating for overlapping claims which can create mutual prosperity for both sides,'' he said.
Pornpimon Trichote, senior researcher at Chulalongkorn University's Asian Studies Institute, said it was crucial for Thailand and other regional states to clearly demarcate their borders and settle related disputes because foreign investors as well as local and national governments were now eager to make economic gains from developing border areas.
''This government seems to be in a better position to muscle in on this issue for the real benefit of the country,'' she said during an interview on the sidelines of the seminar.
Thailand has made most progress in marking the 698-km border with Malaysia. But agreement on a small part measuring some 8.5 km along the Kolok river has yet to be concluded.
More than 95% of the Thai-Lao border, measuring 1,800 km, has been demarcated. But only 59 km of the 2,401-km-long border with Burma has been completed.
Demarcation of the 798-km-long border with Cambodia started in June.
China said it had demarcated most of its borders with neighbouring countries largely through resettlement of people and developing joint economic zones, changing maps and building markers.
In a summary of the three-day meeting, the International Boundaries Research Unit, co-sponsor of the symposium, said that demarcation required both political and economic strategies.The key issues in river boundary work were navigation capability and access to water, as well as land use of the river banks on both sides.
It was the first international symposium of its kind in Southeast Asia, regarded as a hot-spot of regional conflicts caused by inter-state disputes over unsettled borders.
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