Thailand’s panel to resume talks with Cambodia will soon be ready: PM
Paetongtarn says the new JTC will work under the MOU44 framework, adding that concerns over Ko Kut were unfounded as the island belongs to Thailand
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Tuesday that her Cabinet may appoint the Thai Joint Technical Committee (JTC) within two weeks to resume talks with Cambodia over border disputes.
Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Paetongtarn said she had spoken to core members of the coalition partners on Monday evening, and they said a JTC should be appointed to resume talks over the overlapping claims areas in the Gulf of Thailand based on the MOU44 framework.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Thai and Cambodian governments in 2001 (BE 2544) to state each side’s claims in the Gulf of Thailand.
The premier added that during the meeting, all coalition leaders affirmed that both Thailand and Cambodia recognise Ko Kut as Thai territory under the 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty and that Cambodia has no claims over it.
She said the misunderstanding about who owns the island in Trat province had been sparked locally, as she reassured the public about Ko Kut’s clear status as Thai territory.
Paetongtarn had said on Monday that Cambodia had already established its JTC and was waiting for Thailand to appoint its panel.
On Tuesday, she said, the members of Thailand’s JTC should be completed in time for the Cabinet’s okay within two weeks.
“Please wait and I will tell you who will be on the JTC panel,” Paetongtarn said.
