NESDC urges OCA talks with Cambodia as Middle Eastern conflicts rise
With all-out war in the Middle East a strong possibility, govt urged to hold talks with Cambodia on the overlapping claims area
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has advised the government to quickly discuss the overlapping claims area (OCA) with Cambodia to prepare for rising fuel prices due to conflicts in the Middle East that could expand into full-scale wars.
The OCA is a 27,000 square kilometre section of the Gulf of Thailand that potentially holds massive quantities of natural gas and oil.
The negotiation must focus on securing long-term energy stability for the mutual benefit of both countries, Danucha Pichayanan, NESDC secretary-general said on Monday.
He suggested that the talks could use the model of the successful JDA (Joint Development Area) negotiation between Thailand and Malaysia, adding that Thailand has a sufficient investment budget to facilitate various forms of operations in the OCA.
“The area is considered to have natural resources that can help create long-term energy security for both countries and to mitigate the volatility of energy prices in the event of wars in the oil production areas from which Thailand imports,” Danucha said.
The secretary-general suggested that the government facilitate foreign investment in upstream energy industries, including developing skilled labour in this field and using available funds to increase the adoption and transfer of modern technology.
He also suggested increasing the size of the National Competitiveness Enhancement Fund in a bid to provide additional benefits and promotional privileges to attract potential foreign investors in target industries.
“The fund has about 5 billion baht left,” he pointed out. “We might need to increase the fund to around 20 to 30 billion baht to secure investors’ confidence that we can support their ventures in the country.”
