Pita urges govt to exclude Ko Kut from petroleum talks with Cambodia
Former leader of Move Forward warns that any uncertainty on the government’s part may provoke nationalistic sentiments among Thais
Pita Limjaroenrat, former leader of the Move Forward Party, urged the government to leave Trat’s Ko Kut out of its talks with Cambodia to jointly develop petroleum fields in the Gulf of Thailand.
Pita, now chief adviser of the Progressive Movement, was responding to a comment made by Deputy PM and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai about planned talks on the joint development of oil and gas fields in the overlapping claims areas between Thailand and Cambodia.
In the comment, Phumtham said Thais should not let their “extreme nationalism” destroy the country’s chance to reap benefits from the exploitation of petroleum fields in the Gulf of Thailand.
Pita said the public could not help harbouring a strong sense of nationalism because Phumtham and the government remain unclear about the scope of negotiations over the overlapping areas.
It has been reported that the government will base its talks on the memorandum of understanding the two countries signed in 2001, dubbed MOU44 after the Thai year BE2544.
Since Cambodia lays claims on parts of Ko Kut in the MOU44, many fear that Thailand will lose part of the island to Cambodia in the upcoming talks.
Pita said all of Ko Kut belongs to Thailand and the government should not include it in the joint development talks.
“The government should clarify that the talks will focus only on the exploitation of petroleum fields and that it will exclude Ko Kut,” Pita said.
He added that remaining unclear on the issue will not bode well for Thailand and the unity of ASEAN, especially ahead of the US presidential election. He said the fear of losing a part of Ko Kut will stir up a sense of patriotism among Thais that could affect the unity of ASEAN nations.
