BANGKOK – Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced today that his government has instructed relevant agencies to begin the process of canceling a long-standing maritime memorandum of understanding (MoU 44) with Cambodia, citing a lack of progress and diminished utility.

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During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Anutin confirmed he had directed officials to prepare for the annulment of the agreement, signed in 2001, which establishes a framework for negotiating overlapping claims to the continental shelf and its resources in the Gulf of Thailand.

“The cancellation will not happen immediately under this administration, but we are taking the necessary preparatory steps,” Anutin stated. He emphasized that the MoU had yielded no tangible progress and that maintaining it no longer served Thailand’s interests.

When questioned about the legal authority to cancel the agreement, the Prime Minister asserted, “Everything will be done according to the law.”

The move fulfills a campaign pledge Anutin made ahead of the February 8 general election, during which he told supporters that a returned Bhumjaithai-led government would “immediately cancel MoU 44.” He also indicated that a previously discussed 50-50 profit-sharing arrangement for maritime resources would no longer be considered.

The cabinet has been instructed to start preparing to void a 25-year-old memorandum of understanding (MoU) used by Thailand and Cambodia as a framework to settle their overlapping maritime boundaries.

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Following the election, unofficial results show Bhumjaithai securing a dominant position with approximately 194 parliamentary seats, placing the party at the core of the incoming coalition government. Incumbent Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow is expected to resume his role as deputy prime minister overseeing foreign affairs.

Calls from civil society groups and the public to annul the MoU have grown louder, particularly after two rounds of deadly border clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces last year.

The Thai Foreign Ministry has previously clarified that MoU 44 serves solely as a mechanism for dialogue over maritime boundaries and resource-sharing and does not constitute a concession of territorial claims. Any final agreement reached under its framework would require parliamentary approval to take effect.

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The impending cancellation process signals a significant shift in Thailand’s approach to a sensitive and long-stalled bilateral issue.

-Thailand News (TN)