No ‘secret deal’ over Koh Kut

The government has rejected claims that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra reached a secret deal with Cambodia’s ex-premier Hun Sen over the development of disputed maritime areas in the Gulf of Thailand.
Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told media on Monday: “There is no such deal whatsoever. How can anyone who has no official role reach any deal?”
He said the Joint Technical Committee [JTC] has yet to be formed to discuss the overlapping claims area (OCA) under the 2001 memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The JTC will be established when Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra returns to Thailand on Nov 18 from the Apec summit in Peru, scheduled for Nov 10-16, said Mr Phumtham who also serves as a deputy prime minister.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry is responsible for forming the JTC, which will include officials from the Royal Thai Navy’s Hydrographic Department, the Council of State, legal experts and other relevant agencies.
The Pheu Thai-led government’s plan to revive negotiations with Cambodia has been met with scepticism, mainly due to Thaksin and Hun Sen’s close relationship. Hun Sen’s visit to Bangkok earlier this year only renewed concerns over the controversial MoU.
On Saturday, Thaksin also downplayed attempts to establish a link between the MoU and his close relationship with Cambodia. Thaksin insisted the two matters should never be linked because they are different things.
Mr Phumtham also said Monday that tourism in Koh Kut has returned to normal in recent days after the government explained that the negotiations over the OCA will not affect Thailand’s territorial sovereignty over the island in Trat.
He said that when the issue emerged, hotel reservations on the island dropped by 30%, adding that the situation has now improved after government reassurances.
Mr Phumtham also said that his visit to Koh Kut on Saturday was intended to reassure residents that Koh Kut belongs to Thailand.
He said local officials and navy personnel are doing their best to protect the island.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also led a delegation of officials to visit Koh Kut Monday as he reasserted Thailand’s sovereignty over the island.
He said that Koh Kut belongs to Thailand under the French-Siamese treaty signed in 1907.
Under the treaty, the French ceded the Dan Sai and Trat territories to Siam, including all islands located south of Laem Ling (Laem Sing), including Koh Kut.
He also reiterated that the 2001 MoU remains the framework that the JTC is using to negotiate the OCA boundaries with Cambodia.
Mr Anutin said that if both sides can reach a consensus and agree on joint development under the MoU, their respective parliaments must endorse it.
“We don’t want to waste time worrying about things that will never happen. It is now focusing on how to improve the local economy,” Mr Anutin said, referring to concerns that Thailand may risk losing sovereignty over Koh Kut in Trat province to Cambodia if the government proceeds with talks under the MoU.
Thailand and Cambodia claim sovereignty of the mineral and oil-rich OCA, which covers an area of about 26,000 square kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand.
The two countries signed an MoU in 2001, when the Thaksin Shinawatra administration was in power, to jointly develop parts of the OCA and demarcate a maritime border.
It stipulated at the time that the maritime border demarcation and joint development must be carried out as an “indivisible package”, with a Thailand-Cambodia JTC set up to discuss them.
Several talks have been held since then, but there has not been any progress, mainly because neither side has been willing to accept the other’s territorial claim.
In addition to the Palang Pracharath Party, Thai Pakdee Party chairman Warong Dechgitvigrom is urging the revocation of the 2001 MoU with 100,000 signatures to support the move.