Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has warned that two key agreements signed with Cambodia in 2000 and 2001 may face cancellation as tensions over the border continue to escalate.
Speaking on September 28, Anutin said his new government would propose a referendum on whether the agreements should be scrapped. He framed the issue as central to resolving long-standing disputes between the two countries.
The first agreement, signed in June 2000, established a framework for joint land boundary demarcation. It referred back to colonial-era treaties between France and Siam from 1904 and 1907, and has guided joint mapping and border pillar placement for more than two decades.
The second, signed in 2001, outlined cooperation over the overlapping claims area in the Gulf of Thailand, where the two sides have long disputed rights to oil and gas reserves. The zone covers more than 26,000 square kilometres and has been a source of friction since the 1970s.
Both agreements have faced growing criticism in Thailand, especially after recent clashes along the land border. Anutin told local media that parliament has already created a committee to study the agreements, while his government is preparing a public vote to decide their future.
Cambodia has repeatedly defended the validity of the 2000 memorandum of understanding, pointing to its nine articles, which lay out in detail the basis for land demarcation. Phnom Penh also argues that the 2001 pact was designed to turn a contested maritime area into a zone of shared development rather than conflict.
Border experts say the maritime issue is particularly sensitive. They note that Thailand has already secured bilateral deals with Vietnam since 1997, giving it control over roughly 30,000 square kilometres of sea once claimed by Cambodia. Of that, analysts estimate about 4,000 square kilometres could be considered Cambodian waters that were taken without direct negotiation.
The prospect of cancelling the agreements now raises the risk of further confrontation, both on land and at sea, between the two neighbours.
