BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): Discussions of a joint development area (JDA) for oil and gas exploration in the overlapping claims between Cambodia and Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand have reached the level of the Cabinet, a Government House source said.
The proposal was heard by the Cabinet at its weekly meeting on Tuesday (Jan 3), the source said, adding that officials who were not relevant to the proposed JDA were asked to leave the meeting room for 20 minutes while it was discussed.
The source said discussions on the proposed JDA were raised by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan (pic centre) as the Cabinet meeting was drawing to an end.
The confidential discussions on the JDA lasted for about 20 minutes, the source said.
According to the source, Prawit told the Cabinet that he met Cambodian Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem last month to discuss a joint development project for oil and gas exploration in the overlapping claims area.
Prawit told the Cabinet that Suy Sem was willing to implement a JDA with Thailand under the condition that the two countries exclude discussions of territorial borders from any JDA they agree to.
The source quoted Prawit as telling the Cabinet that Suy Sem was convinced to go ahead with a JDA in the overlapping claims area due to rising global oil prices.
Prawit told Suy Sem that any oil and gas extracted from the JDA would allow the two neighbours to depend on their own energy resources, the Government House source said. Moreover, Prawit also told Suy Sem that oil and gas exploration in the JDA would spark development of related industries.
The source said the Cabinet agreed to set up a committee to oversee a JDA with Cambodia. The committee would be chaired by a Foreign Ministry official.
The Cabinet agreed that the Thai-Malaysian JDA would serve as the model.
The overlapping claims area between Cambodia and Thailand covers about 26,000sq km in the Gulf of Thailand. The area where the joint development project is planned is about 16,000sq km, the Government House source said, adding that it was located above 11 degrees latitude. The Thai-Malaysia JDA began in 1979, following 11 years of negotiation.
