5-2-2024 (BANGKOK) Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is scheduled to visit Thailand on Wednesday for crucial official talks aimed at addressing the long-standing issue of joint development of natural resources within the disputed maritime boundary between the two countries. Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin at Government House to discuss various areas of cooperation, including border matters, transportation, trade, and investment.
The visit, announced by the Foreign Ministry and Government House on Monday, is expected to provide an opportunity for both leaders to renew efforts to explore the joint development of the overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand, which has been claimed by both countries. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had previously stated in parliament on January 3 that he would raise this issue with his Cambodian counterpart during their next meeting. Previous attempts by the government of former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to resolve the impasse on this matter did not yield any progress.
Thailand and Cambodia share a disputed area of approximately 26,600 square kilometers in their maritime boundary claims. In 1979, Thailand and Malaysia reached an agreement to jointly exploit oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand by setting aside their differences in the disputed area. Thailand sees its successful negotiations with Malaysia as a potential model for resolving the unsettled marine boundary with Cambodia. However, the ongoing dispute over the maritime border has hindered any significant progress.
Opinions among officials who were involved in the negotiations between Thailand and Malaysia over joint development more than four decades ago are mixed regarding the Cambodian issue. One official believes that joint development will be impossible as long as both countries insist on settling the maritime border first. However, another official expresses hope for progress this time, suggesting that the decreasing outlook for global oil demand in the long run could serve as an impetus for accelerating cooperation efforts between Thailand and Cambodia. Both officials preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Regarding the land border, Thai Ambassador to Cambodia, Chertkiat Atthakor, stated after a meeting in January with Lam Chea, the Cambodian minister in charge of the state secretariat of border affairs, that both countries hope to make progress in surveying and demarcating unpegged areas along the frontier, in line with the visions expressed by their respective leaders. The Thai embassy, in a Facebook post on January 25, emphasized that both sides agreed that an upcoming meeting presented a great opportunity to resolve their border issues and transform the border into an area of peace and development.
The Pheu Thai Party-led government is keen on enhancing trade between Thailand and Cambodia. In 2023, the two-way trade between the two countries reached a value of 340 billion baht, and during their first meeting in Phnom Penh in September, the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia expressed their commitment to increasing it to 535 billion baht by next year.
However, ahead of Hun Manet’s visit, three individuals, including two Cambodian activists and a former political prisoner, were arrested in Thailand on Friday. They had planned to hold a protest against the Cambodian leader in Bangkok, highlighting the sensitivity and tensions surrounding the visit.
