Challenge to Cambodia’s Maritime MoU Raises Concerns

Paiboon Nititawan, deputy leader of the Palang Pracharath Party, has requested the Ombudsman to petition the Constitutional Court to determine if the Thai-Cambodian memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2001 on joint development in the Gulf of Thailand is in violation of the Thai constitution. The 2001 MoU was not approved by the Thai parliament before being signed, leading Paiboon to argue that it has no legal effect from the beginning. He named the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as responsible parties for breaching the constitution by continuing to use the MoU as a reference for agreements on territorial waters in the Gulf of Thailand, estimated to be worth over 20 trillion baht.

Paiboon has requested the Ombudsman to ask the court to order the department and the ministry to cease using the 2001 MoU in their work related to the demarcation of the territorial waters in question. If the court rules the MoU unconstitutional and invalid, Thailand will be better positioned in future disputes over Thai-Cambodian overlapping claims. Cambodia has relied on the 2001 MoU to support its claim that Thailand recognized the territorial waters as areas of overlapping claims. Paiboon also suggested turning to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, if Cambodia does not agree that the MoU is invalid.

By questioning the legality of the 2001 MoU, Paiboon aims to ensure that Thailand is not bound by an agreement that was never properly approved by the Thai parliament. He believes that this move will strengthen Thailand’s position in any future disputes over territorial waters and overlapping claims with Cambodia. Paiboon’s request to the Ombudsman to seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court highlights his commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting Thailand’s sovereignty in the Gulf of Thailand.

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