A Pheu Thai-led government could revive talks with Cambodia on gas exploration

A good relationship with the Cambodian government would be a prerequisite for the resumption of negotiations on overlapping claims to natural gas resources in the Gulf of Thailand, experts said, but warned of a return to a cold conflict if there were mutual reservations. The dividends of a diplomatic bonhomie would be high, as together they could exploit an estimated 1 trillion baht worth of energy resources.

Political turmoil and bruised nationalism, mostly in Thailand after the military coup in 2006, became a major impediment for progress in talks between the two countries on demarcating the disputed maritime boundaries as well as jointly developing petroleum reserves in the 26,000 square-kilometre area, they said.

The issue was discussed at length during a seminar on the overlapping claims of the two countries in the Gulf of Thailand. The event was jointly hosted by Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Law and the Foreign Ministry’s Treaties and Legal Affairs Department on August 10, even as the Thai side is still waiting for new guidelines and instructions from the yet-to-be-formed government.

read more https://www.thaipbsworld.com/a-pheu-thai-led-government-could-revive-talks-with-cambodia-on-gas-exploration/