Thailand, Cambodia maritime border talks resume after hiatus

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yong
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Thailand, Cambodia maritime border talks resume after hiatus

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Thaila ... 3&si=44594

Thailand, Cambodia maritime border talks resume after hiatus
Bangkok, Phnom Penh seek new energy resources to ease import costs

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Thailand and Cambodia reached a basic agreement in 2001 to jointly develop the area where their claims overlap, but it has remained undeveloped since then. © Reuters
APORNRATH PHOONPHONGPHIPHAT, Nikkei staff writerSeptember 22, 2022 14:27 JST

BANGKOK -- Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to resume talks on their overlapping claims in waters in the Gulf of Thailand after years of silence, as they look to ease the pain of higher energy costs by developing new oil and gas resources.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said last week that the government has assigned the Foreign Ministry the lead role in setting up talks between the two countries to conclude the deal and start producing oil and gas from the area.

"If we start talking now and conclude the deal quickly, I think we can start producing oil and gas soon because all the infrastructure is already there," Supattanapong said. "This is good timing to start the talks, which will benefit both Thailand and Cambodia."

The overlapping claims cover around 26,000 sq. kilometers in an area that is widely believed to hold significant oil and natural gas reserves as it is located between the Erawan and Bongkot gas fields, operated by Thailand.

Those fields have supplied gas to Thailand since the 1980s but are nearly exhausted, forcing the country to import liquefied natural gas and look for new resources to meet demand.


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Surging global oil and gas prices triggered by the Russia's invasion of Ukraine have also prompted Cambodia to look for domestic oil and gas resources, encouraging the country to resume talks with Thailand.

Thailand and Cambodia reached a basic agreement in 2001 to jointly develop the area where their claims overlap, temporarily setting aside the maritime boundary issue. Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister at the time, tried to take advantage of his close relationship with his Cambodian counterpart to promote the project, but it was unfinished when Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup.

In late 2019, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to open negotiations for a third time. But the talks have remained in limbo due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue was mentioned again in December last year, during the 11th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Phnom Penh, but the two countries made no progress at that time.

"The negotiations have been set for sure, but no one knows when the two countries can seal the deal. It may take years, like when we negotiated with Malaysia," said a senior Thai official.

Thailand also had a long-running maritime boundary dispute with Malaysia. The two countries began talks on the issue in 1979, which were finally concluded in 1990 when the two countries set up the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area.

The area, which produces around 800 million cubic feet per day, which is split evenly between the two countries.
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