[Thai] PM warns of force if [2000] memo [with Cambodia] is torn up

24/01/2011
Bangkok Post

Tearing up the 2000 memorandum of understanding governing border areas contested by Thailand and Cambodia will only lead to the use of force, warns Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The prime minister said in a television broadcast last night that the memo had helped prevent either country from taking back the border land to which they laid sovereign claim.

Scrapping it, as demanded by the People's Alliance for Democracy, would leave the two neighbouring countries with no option but to use force to reclaim the territory, he said.

The broadcast was primarily to address the issue over the capture of seven Thais by Cambodian authorities.

Mr Abhisit used a digital map to trace the path taken by the seven Thais on Dec 29 when they entered a disputed area near Nong Jan village in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district next to Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province.

The seven were charged by Cambodia with illegal entry and trespassing on a military area.

Democrat Party MP Panich Vikitsreth and Veera Somkwamkid, a coordinator with the Thai Patriots Network, which is allied to the PAD, were among those arrested.

Mr Panich and four others were given suspended jail terms and have since returned home.

The court has still to bring down a ruling on Mr Veera and his secretary, Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, for illegal entry and they also face charges of espionage with the Phnom Penh court scheduled to hand down its decision tomorrow.

Mr Abhisit said during the broadcast last night that the memorandum was a tool for keeping either country from asserting unilaterally its territorial claim over disputed border areas.

The PAD is calling for the memo to be scrapped, saying it is tantamount to giving Cambodia licence to take Thailand's border land. The group is holding a protest tomorrow in Bangkok to highlight its demand.

The premier said the memo required the two countries to determine together what aspects of the dispute could be settled and what remained contentious.

In areas which are unsettled, the memorandum also sets a course of action and protocol to be followed.

If one country breaches the territorial rights of the other country, the affronted state can lodge a protest based on what the countries have agreed in the memo.

Mr Abhisit said the two countries would have no choice but to use force to settle the border conflicts if the memorandum was cancelled.

Military clashes would have far-reaching ramifications on diplomacy and also affect people on both sides of the border who now live in harmony.

Mr Abhisit also dismissed critics' claims that the result of the trial against the five Thais had given Cambodia an upper hand to stake its territorial claim to Thailand's border land.

He said the government had sent a formal statement to Phnom Penh to prevent the court verdict being interpreted in a way that could have implications for the dispute over the border territory.