Time right for talks on sea boundary

Thanom: Talks must be transparent

Published: 6/09/2011
Bangkok Post

In 2009, the Democrat-led government and the People's Alliance for Democracy accused ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of holding secret talks with Cambodia about exploiting oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand.

The government threatened to revoke a memorandum of understanding on overlapping maritime boundaries as it sought to protect its interests and show its displeasure at the alleged secret talks.

The memorandum was signed by then-foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in 2001 during the first Thaksin government.

Now the Pheu Thai Party-led government has hit back, accusing former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban of holding secret discussions with Sok An for the same purpose.

THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL talks to Adm Thanom Charoenlarp, adviser to the technical team for maritime boundary negotiations and an expert on maritime zones, to shed some light on the issue.

How important is it for Thailand to enter talks on the overlapping maritime zone with Cambodia?

We should do it now. When we started negotiations with Cambodia in 1970, we believed we still had more time because we still had a lot of energy reserves in the country.

Up until 2001, we were still confident we had about 26 years left to exploit these reserves. But as of today, we have only 10 years left because domestic energy consumption has increased rapidly.

If we do not make our move now, we might need to go back to using firewood to cook our food.

Is it possible for any party to hold secret talks to gain benefits from the overlapping sea boundary between the two countries?

I don't think so. Everything has to be undertaken in a transparent manner as stipulated under the Concession Law. We have to seek parliamentary approval before signing any agreement. There is no way to agree with another country on this issue in secret. Many people misunderstand this.

Why are you confident that secret talks will never take place?

It is because all deals must be known by the technical team, which is comprised of state officials. Although the government has changed hands, the technical team has not. It comprises the same members who have been negotiating with Cambodia. It is impossible for any party to hold a secret deal without the knowledge of this group.

Is it possible for any party to drill for oil in the Gulf of Thailand without us knowing?

It's impossible because the Royal Thai Navy regularly patrols the overlapping area. Although we believe there is gas in the seabed of the Gulf of Thailand, looking for it would cost US$1 million (30 million baht) to $5 million, and we have to dig many holes to survey the quantity of gas. After that, we need to bring the gas onshore for processing, and the machinery alone could cost $15 billion, never mind the cost of laying the pipes to bring the oil to a refinery.

Should Thailand revoke the 2001 memorandum of understanding?

I see no benefit in doing that. The Gulf of Thailand is technically a continental shelf and four countries _ Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia _ have claim to the area.

Countries which are immediate neighbours have to agree to announce the international maritime boundary together. A unilateral announcement would be ineffective. The 2001 MoU laid the framework for talks on this issue. We must have a good reason to scrap the MoU because of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.