Energy chief Sontirat appeals for patience on fix to sea border dispute with Cambodia

By THE NATION

 

Sontirat

 

Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong has urged that people be patient as he seeks to resolve a decades-old wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia over their maritime border.

 

Sontirat said the government has been looking deeply into the issues and asked that he be given time to work on a solution before he can announce a successful conclusion to the neighbours’ dispute.

 

“I’m trying to solve this problem. Please let me work on this for the moment. My team has already gained an understanding of the matters. We now see the problems and the challenges that we face. It’s a sensitive problem. That’s all I can say for now,” he said

 

The most important reason behind the need to renegotiate the overlapping maritime border is the increasing national petroleum reserves.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has been involved in the process with his oversight of the Foreign Affairs and Energy ministries, which are coordinating their efforts on the negotiations plan.

 

Premrutai Vinaiphat, director-general of the Mineral Fuels Department, said a resolution to the overlapping maritime border between Thailand and Cambodia was a mission and a duty of the ministry. But the department had to wait for the minister's approval before releasing more information.

 

A source from the petroleum industry said that if the government makes a deal with Cambodia on the border, the energy costs for both countries, including for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, will decrease. Gas can be used in many industries, the source said. These benefits would help encourage investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor and improve Thailand's performance in industrial cost-effective competition.

 

“To close the deal, the solution for both countries has to focus on benefits, not politics. The solution might come from the Joint Development Area (JDA); gas would be sent to the one country which is in need of it first” the source said.

 

If the deals are closed, the seventh gas separate plant might happen depending on the future gas reserves exploration as the gas in the Gulf of Thailand has been decreasing. However, construction costs would have to be considered.

 

The Mineral Fuels Department reported that it had submitted a plan that would see reserved areas for national security separated from JDA, which had been declared in 2011.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30374512

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-10

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

Isn't this something an international boundary agency or the U.N. should sort out? That or Big Boss China.