Suthep Denies Secret Deals With Cambodia Over Maritime Zone

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THAI-KHMER TIES

Suthep denies secret deals over maritime zone

By The Nation

Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban admitted yesterday that he met Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An twice - in Hong Kong and Kunming - but did not make any secret deal over the maritime resources in the overlapping zone in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Thai government under Abhisit Vejjajiva then invited Sok An to talk on the matter in Thailand but the latter had no free time to visit Thailand and so informal meetings were held in Hong Kong, Suthep said.

"I told Sok An that - as both of us were appointed chief negotiators on the overlapping area in the sea - why didn't we open a formal meeting to follow what previous governments had done," Suthep told reporters.

"Returning home, I rushed to issue a letter of invitation to talk in Thailand - but the meeting has never taken place as the bilateral relations turned sour," he said.

Suthep decided to clarify his meetings with Sok An after the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority issued a statement on Tuesday accusing Abhisit's administration of attempting to make a secret deal on the maritime zone.

Abhisit sent his deputy Suthep to have 'behind-the-scenes' meetings with Sok An in Hong Kong in August 2009 and in Kunming in July 2010, the statement said.

Suthep said he would make a formal clarification to Phnom Penh when he saw the statement in detail.

"The Democrat Party and I have no conflict of interest over this matter. The negotiation of the overlapping area is for the benefit of the country. I don't think anybody could have a personal interest in the deal. The process of negotiation must go through parliament scrutiny with public acknowledgement," he said.

However the issue of the overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand became controversial as Democrat MPs accused Yingluck Shinawatra's government - during the policy debate in the Parliament last week - of trying to make a deal with Cambodia over the maritime zone for the personal benefit of her brother and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Former Prime Minister Abhisit, who is leader of the Democrats, said yesterday Cambodia had issued the statement to discredit his government because he had never responded to Cambodian demands but did everything to protect Thai interest.

Under his government, Suthep simply tried to establish a framework of negotiation on the maritime zone deal and prepare to ask permission from the Parliament to open the talks, Abhisit said.

"As we put on hold the 2001 memorandum of understanding (MoU) on this matter, the attempt was over. There is nothing to hide," he said.

"By common sense, if my government had done anything for the benefit of Cambodia, Cambodia would be satisfied. But we have never done as they wanted, that's the reason they discredit us," Abhisit said.

The ruling Pheu Thai's MP Sunai Jullapongsathon yesterday questioned why Abhisit's government did not talk over the matter with Cambodia openly. He asked: Why did Suthep, who was then in charge of security matters, handle the maritime deal? Why did Suthep have to meet with Sok An before and after the decision to scrap the 2001 memorandum of understanding on the maritime? "Or did that happen because you could not cut the deal [as a] personal interest?" Sunai said.

Abhisit's government decided to terminate the MoU on the maritime deal signed with Cambodia during Thaksin's administration in 2001, as Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen had appointed Thaksin as his adviser in November 2009.

However denunciation of the MoU did not come into force as Abhsiti's government had not formally informed Phnom Penh over its decision.

-- The Nation 2011-09-01