Thai Foreign Policy Expert Warns Scrapping 2000 an | RSS.com
Thai political and foreign affairs expert Surachart Bamrungsuk has warned that any attempt to annul the 2000 and 2001 memorandums of understanding between Cambodia and Thailand could pave the way for Cambodia to bring the border dispute to the International Court of Justice.
Surachart told The Nation on October 5 that efforts to hold a referendum on scrapping MOU 43 of 2000 and MOU 44 of 2001 could backfire on Thailand in the long term. He highlighted that most Thai citizens do not fully understand the complexities of the foreign policy issues embedded in these agreements.
The expert said that the push to annul the MOUs is currently driven more by nationalist and militarist sentiments among hardline factions than by clear foreign policy objectives. He added that if the MOUs were subjected to a referendum, they could be completely revoked to demonstrate patriotic commitment.
Surachart warned that cancelling the MOUs would escalate tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, making negotiations to resolve the border dispute more difficult. He suggested that Cambodia is likely waiting for Thailand to make the first move toward international legal proceedings, as Phnom Penh seeks Bangkok’s voluntary engagement with the International Court of Justice.
On September 30, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul indicated that he personally supports the idea of scrapping the 2000 and 2001 agreements, but must first consult the public to decide on the matter.
The Bangkok Post reported that a recent survey by Thailand’s National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) found that 44.1 percent of Thai citizens had no understanding of the 2000 MOU. Only 7.7 percent had a clear understanding, while 23.1 percent had partial awareness and 24.9 percent had limited knowledge.
The survey on the 2001 MOU showed that just 6.8 percent of the public fully understood the agreement, 22.4 percent had partial awareness, 24.9 percent had limited knowledge, and 45.7 percent were entirely unaware of it.
Separately, former senior military commander of the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front Chum Chheang told Cambodia Daily’s Idea Talk on October 2 that under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the MOUs could technically be annulled, but only under specific conditions outlined in Articles 46 through 64 of the convention.
The situation underscores the challenges in navigating public perception, nationalist sentiment, and international legal frameworks amid rising tensions over Cambodia-Thailand border agreements.
