Cambodia and Thailand might meet for border talks in January 2009

Agreements to withdraw Thai troops reached in the Siem Reap talks on 12th November, 2008 between Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat (L) and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong (R) are awaiting the approval of the Thai parliament.

Radio Free Asia
By Sav Yuth
25th December, 2008
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

Cambodian officials said that the Khmer-Thai Joint Boundary Commission plans to meet for border talks in January next year.

Government officials said that the Khmer-Thai Joint Boundary Commission plans to meet in January after the border talks between the two countries have stalled due to the political crisis and the change of government in Thailand.

Chairman of the Cambodian Border Commission, Mr. Var Kim Hong, said on 25th December that he had received news from the Thai Foreign Ministry through the Thai embassy that all the documents agreed with Cambodia recently will be put to the Thai parliament for approval which will be convened at the end of January next year.

Mr. Var Kim Hong said that the next Khmer-Thai border talks will be held in Thailand but added that there is no timetable yet because they have to wait for the Thai parliament to approve the previous documents first.

Mr. Var Kim Hong said: “The meeting for talks on land boundary issues will be held in Thailand but there is no timetable for the actual planting of the border pillars have been decided yet.”

Mr. Var Kim Hong said he doesn’t know what the results of the talks will be because he doesn’t know about the stance of the new Thai government regarding the issues. But he added that currently, Thailand has a real government which he hopes this new government will continue to work with Cambodia on resolving the border issues.

Recently, the newly-elected prime minister of Thailand, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, said that his government will work hard to resolve the border issues with Cambodia.

Mr. Hor Namhong, foreign minister of Cambodia, has said that during the third border talks in Siem Reap on 12th November, 2008, he had requested for the withdrawals of all Thai troops from Wat Keo Sekhakirisvarak pagoda and the areas surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

Mr. Hor Namhong said: “Cambodia had requested Thailand to withdraw all their troops from Wat Keo Sekhakirisvarak, from the areas around the pagoda and from the vicinity of the pagoda. It means that they have to withdraw much further then their present positions. Regarding the troops withdrawal, we told them that after the Thai parliament approved the agreements we all will start the withdrawals."

There are reports that, in Tatum and Anlong Veng areas in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodian troops are on high alert because Thai troops are staging military drills in the areas.

Border talks with P. Penh rank high on Somchai's list

Foreign ministers told to meet in New York

Friday September 19, 2008
ANUCHA CHAROENPO
Bangkok Post

Thailand is ready to resume talks with Cambodia to try to resolve the border dispute about overlapping territory, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said yesterday.

Mr Somchai said he would inform Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen before their foreign ministries meet about Thailand's determination to use bilateral talks to end the border spats.

He said a new round of talks between the Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers will take place after an informal meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) set for Sept 29 in New York.

Asean foreign ministers will follow their leaders to New York for the United Nations General Assembly scheduled to take place between Sept 25 and 29.

Mr Somchai remained tight-lipped about his new foreign minister. The present government has no foreign minister after Tej Bunnag resigned from the position last month.

The premier stressed the new foreign minister must be a person best known for being adept at foreign affairs.

Thailand and Cambodia have traded accusations over the past few days. The new hot spot is Ta Kwai temple, known as Ta Krabey in Cambodia.

Phnom Penh claimed Thailand had reinforced troops in the area which has not been settled. But the Foreign Ministry argued that the temple is in Phanom Dong Rak district in Surin, even though the boundary has not been fixed.

Thailand also protested that Cambodia had sent armed units into the area near the temple.

Hun Sen had also questioned Thailand's readiness to chair Asean due to political turmoil caused by the People's Alliance for Democracy's ongoing rally against the government.

The fresh spat prompted Mr Somchai to visit the Foreign Ministry one day after being elected by the House.

The prime minister told ministry officials that he would not attend the annual UN meeting and said Thailand will be represented by the foreign minister.

''I will find a new foreign minister before the UN General Assembly convenes,'' Mr Somchai said.

Political problems in Thailand have stalled talks with Cambodia after border tensions arose over the disputed area near Preah Vihear opposite Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket. The dispute later widened to include other locations, including Ta Moan Thom and Ta Kwai temples in neighbouring Surin.

The two countries have already completed the first phase of troop reductions near Phreah Vihear but the second phase has stalled.

Thailand and Cambodia have twice held talks about the border conflict. These were between Mr Tej and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Permanent secretary for foreign affairs Virasakdi Futrakul said it was not necessary for a third party to help solve the problem between the two countries as it can be handled by the Joint Boundary Committee.

Cambodia willing to resume oil talks with Thailand

Saturday, March 29, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia says it is willing to resume stalled talks with Thailand on how to divide up offshore energy resources along their disputed sea border.

Overlapping claims to undersea oil and natural gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand has kept both countries from tapping into potentially rich reserves.

Negotiations opened in 1995 but all attempts to reach a formal agreement failed, with the last round of talks held in 2006.

Now the director-general,of Cambodia's National Petroleum Authority says talks could resume as early as next month.

Te Duong Tara says Cambodia is seeking a 50-50 split of the disputed area, while Thailand wants a larger share of the fields.

Cambodia expects to begin oil production in its own offshore fields in 2011.

Oil was discovered in Cambodia in 2005 by the US energy giant Chevron.

Cambodia Confirms To Resume Oil, Gas Talks With Thailand

Nov 7, 2007

PHNOM PENH -(Dow Jones)- Cambodia is willing to resume long-delayed talks with Thailand over joint development of oil and gas resources in disputed waters, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said Thursday.

"We are also happy to resume the talks. We expect for the new talks, we will get a good result," Sok An told reporters at an investment conference in Phnom Penh.

His comments come after Thailand's Mineral Fuels department earlier this month said talks with Cambodia are likely to resume early next year.

Cambodia and Thailand have long been at odds over exploration and development in areas of the Gulf of Thailand that they both claim. A deal appeared imminent in 1997, but plans were scrapped because of the Asian economic crisis.

Sok An, a powerful figure in Cambodia who also heads the government's council of ministers, or Cabinet, said Cambodia can't afford to not extract its petroleum resources.

"We can't let the resources stay under the sea. We need all these resources for the development of the country," he said.

Both countries believe the disputed exploration areas could contain abundant gas and oil reserves, as they are located close to productive fields.

-By Stephen Wright, Dow Jones Newswires; 66 89 926 5022; stephen.wright@ dowjones.com