No ‘secret deal’ with Cambodia over disputed Gulf areas: Phumtham

Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai categorically denied the existence of any secret deal between former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen on the overlapping claims areas in the Gulf of Thailand.

“There’s no such secret deal. How can persons with no official role conduct any deal?” Phumtham responded irritably when questioned by reporters on Monday.

Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen are known to be close to each other, prompting observers to believe that the joint agreement will be successful now that the ruling coalition is led by Pheu Thai. Thaksin is considered the de facto leader of the ruling party.

Phumtham, who doubles as deputy PM, also asked how the media can think a deal has been cut when a joint technical committee (JTC) to hold talks on the overlapping claims areas has not yet been set up.

“I’ll no longer answer questions on this issue,” he said, adding that the Thai JTC will be set up after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra returns from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The premier is scheduled to attend the APEC summit in the Peruvian capital of Lima from November 14 to 16. She’s scheduled to return to Bangkok on November 18.

Phumtham added that the Thai JTC would include officials from relevant agencies such as the Council of State and the Royal Thai Navy’s Hydrographic Department as well as international law experts.

The Palang Pracharath Party and some nationalist groups have been calling on the government to annul the MOU44 instead of using it as a framework for OCA talks.

The MOU44 was signed by the two countries in 2001 in which both sides registered their claims over an overlapping 320 kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand.

Nationalists believe that the MOU44 will give Cambodia part or all of Koh Kut in Trat province.

However, Phumtham said on Monday that Cambodia does not lay any claims on the island. He said he had visited Koh Kut on Saturday and found that local officials and the Navy were guarding it without any worries.

Phumtham said worries about Cambodia laying claim to Koh Kut had briefly hurt the tourism industry, but things were back to normal after the government explained that the OCA talks would not affect Thailand’s sovereignty over Koh Kut.