Deputy PM: Cabinet has no loss of face by withdrawing border committee minutes

13 Apr, 2011
(MCOT online news)

BANGKOK, April 13 -- Insisting that the Thai Cabinet has not lost face by withdrawing the three sets of minutes of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) from Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Wednesday that talks between the two neighbouring countries on the disputed border zone could proceed without problem.

The Cabinet had decided to withdraw three sets of JBC proceeding minutes after considering a ruling by the Constitution Court and views expressed by concerned ministers and agreeing unanimously that there was no need to seek parliamentary approval, Mr Suthep said.

The Council of State as the legal arm of the government and Cabinet ministers alike shared the view that as the Constitution Court had ruled that the working process of the Thai delegates in the Thai-Cambodian JBC is still incomplete, therefore there is no need to request approval from Parliament, he said.

Negotiations on the issue must be completed first and conclusions reached as to whether they would impact Thailand’s territory in any way before they could be sent and ask for approval by Parliament, he explained.

Mr Suthep’s remarks were made after the Cabinet on Tuesday withdrew the three minutes of the Thai-Cambodian JBC from Parliament after the Council of State interpreted that the documents did not comply with Section 190 of the charter.

Thai officials sitting on the JBC could still meet with their Cambodian counterparts until the task is completed and then submit the conclusions to Thai parliament, Mr Suthep said.

He said the Thai foreign affairs ministry could explain the whole process to Cambodia, to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or the United Nations that there would be “no more obstacles concerning future negotiations (on the disputed area) between Thailand and Cambodia.”

The three minutes of the Thai-Cambodian JBC were signed in 2008 and 2009.

The two neighbouring countries have contested a 4.6-square kilometre tract of land near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the 11th century temple belongs to Phnom Penh. UNESCO named it a World Heritage site in 2008 after Cambodia applied for the status. The country submitted a management plan for the temple to the UNESCO World Heritage Commission which is expected to pass its decision at its meeting in Bahrain in June.