4 hours ago, superal said:

What is it about the Kap Choeng I.O. that you don't like ? I use it regularly for my 90 day reporting . Easy going staff and sometimes we have a laugh . In and out of there in 10 minutes .

 

BTW that bombing in Prasat was really scary . Also the Thai missile launchers made our place shake .

The last few times that I had to go to Kap Choeng was great. I was the only foreigner there or only the second in line. Very fast and also closer to my house.

 

Back to the subject of ceasefire, up to now it's been pretty quiet. Waiting for the evening to see if anything is happening. Part of the ceasefire agreement is to not have troop movement but they didn't say anything about resupply.

4 hours ago, mfd101 said:

the big & cheap pharmacy in Muaeng Surin

Which one do you mean? Morya? (I don't find them cheap)

3 hours ago, mfd101 said:

It's the RX Company pharmacy opposite the Municipality Bldg, which you can find on Google Maps.

Too late to edit my last post,  found your answer.

I agree.

 

NB why you call them RX company? Aren't they Boonthieng Pharma, whereas RX Company sounds like you'r talking about Chumchon?

21 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Too late to edit my last post,  found your answer.

I agree.

 

NB why you call them RX company? Aren't they Boonthieng Pharma, whereas RX Company sounds like you'r talking about Chumchon?

That's what's written on the bag of items we bought there earlier today.

3 hours ago, zzzzz said:

wrong: boy are u misinformed!!

BIG money involved in concessions for oil exploration around the Island and many believe this is what caused the falling out between Thaksin and hun sen

here's some links to prove it
https://www.dw.com/en/why-are-thailand-and-cambodia-clashing-over-koh-kood-island/a-71212061

"The island is believed to be sitting atop massive gas and oil reserves. Its exploitation has been on hold due to Cambodia claiming parts of the territory, but now, with the growing demand for energy in both Asian countries, the conflict has been pushed to forefront."

https://thediplomat.com/2025/04/the-thai-resort-island-at-the-center-of-a-simmering-territorial-dispute-with-cambodia/
The resumption of maritime boundary negotiations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh has revived a dormant sovereignty dispute over Koh Kood

Hun Manet, the prime minister of Cambodia, recently waded into the debate, publicly stating that its claims over Koh Kood, which is referred to as Koh Kuch in Khmer, had not yet been lost.

The disagreement over Koh Kood dates back to the era of French colonial rule in Indochina. In 1904, Thailand, then called Siam, ceded the island to France, along with the nearby port of Trat and other adjacent islands. In the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907, these territories were then retroceded to Siam in exchange for large territories in western Cambodia.

However, Cambodia has never fully accepted Thai sovereignty over Koh Kood. In 1972, Phnom Penh released an official map and normalized its continental shelf with a decree that asserted a claim over the southern part of Koh Kood.

another one
https://pressxpress.org/2025/01/05/why-is-cambodia-pressing-thailand-over-koh-kood/
 

As Thailand and Cambodia reignite diplomatic tensions over the island of Koh Kood, Cambodia is pressing its case on historical grounds, arguing that its territorial claims were marginalized during the colonial era. Beyond sovereignty, the dispute highlights deeper questions of historical justice and energy equity in Southeast Asia.
 

The island, located in the Gulf of Thailand, is suspected to sit atop vast reserves of natural gas and oil, making it a focal point not just for sovereignty but for control over valuable energy resources. While both countries have agreed to share the profits in principle, Cambodia contends that its territorial rights deserve clearer recognition under international law.

 

"

 

Boy, am I really?

 

I work in oil and gas exploration, and have done for the best part of forty years, including exploration in the Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Cambodian waters of the Gulf of Thailand. I was also involved with exploratory work onshore Cambodia back in 2009.

 

There's absolutely NO "massive gas and oil reserves" under Koh Kood because the geology simply is not there. The overlapping claims area, or OCA, is vast, extending into the deeper waters, adjacent to Thailand's own producing oil and gas fields. That's where the real prospectivity is, and why, over six years ago, a company carried out seismic and drill exploration in Cambodia's offshore Block A, the most prospective area within the uncontested Cambodian waters, and some 250 km from Koh Kood. I know this not because of some speculatory and misinformed headline being duplicated in mainstream media, but because this is my job and more importantly, I was there.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/6d872544-3617-485e-9778-5d357f519404

 

Put it this way, if these "massive gas and oil reserves" lay only 35 km off the Thai coast, why did Unocal and later Chevron and PTTEP along with others, explore, drill and end up producing from the middle of the Gulf of Thailand? Why is PTTEP exploring there right now, today? I know this because it is my job to know this, and I follow the industry news, not just the attention-grabbing headlines.

 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Rising-energy-prices-rekindle-Thai-Cambodian-interest-in-disputed-waters

 

As for Cambodia stating they had no claim to the island, that was the case late last year and even earlier this year, when Thaksin and Hun Sen were still working on their private deal. However, when the wheels started to come off any 'deal' and the notion of rejigging of Thaksin's 2001 Memorandum Of Understanding into practical negotiations was dismissed by the Thai nationalists and opposition parties, that's when the Cambodian counter claims and back-pedalling arose, coincident with an alleged increase in Cambodian troop movements and road improvements on the border as far back as late January.

 

Think about it. Cambodia has no domestic oil and gas production, mainly because of their history. No savvy investor is willing to back exploration beyond the previously successful company that failed back around 2018, and eventually filed for bankruptcy and no longer exists. Back last century, the Japanese National Oil Company had a sniff and walked away. More recently, PetroVietnam, another state oil company, bailed in 2016 after they gave onshore exploration another shot. Cambodia's military cannot hold a candle to Thailand's armed forces.

 

On the other hand, Thailand has proven oil and gas reserves with several companies, both local and foreign, still actively exploring offshore with mostly home-grown expertise and manpower. Their military is bigger, undeniably better armed and probably better trained.

 

By initiating this border crisis, Hun Sen and Cambodia has absolutely nothing to lose, whereas Thaksin and Thailand has everything to lose.

Off topic conspiracy posts remived

On 7/28/2025 at 6:02 PM, SAFETY FIRST said:

😂

😂

Don't believe that psycho Cambodia guy. 

Quite sad actually, shaking hands with the devil, killing all those innocent Thai's 

Ha, ha.... The wife is a psycho too 😂

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19gTTRSmTS/

This makes sense 

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