洪森回应柬泰海域争议 拒绝建立新双边机制主张国际法解决

I fully support the Royal Government's position on resolving the overlapping maritime area between Cambodia and Thailand following Thailand's unilateral cancellation of the MOU 2001. A new bilateral mechanism should not be created to replace the MOU 2001. Instead, the process should move directly toward the mechanisms under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, where a fair resolution can be achieved with the participation of a third party, as emphasized yesterday by Prime Minister Hun Manet. For me, having worked on this issue since the time of former Thai Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan from 1989 to 1990, and later participating in the signing of the MOU 2001, I deeply regret Thailand's unilateral decision to cancel the agreement on the grounds of "lack of progress". I would like to clarify: what caused the lack of progress? Thailand itself knows better than anyone. How many prime ministers has Thailand had since the 2006 Thai coup d'état that ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra? Cambodia, on the other hand, has maintained continuity under Prime Minister Hun Sen and now under Hun Manet, without changing the negotiation mechanism or substance. Meanwhile, Thailand has changed prime ministers around ten times—could this be one of the reasons for the lack of progress? I would further emphasize that despite Thailand's frequent changes in leadership, those leaders still demonstrated a willingness to continue negotiations. For instance, under the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan were sent to meet with me at my residence in Takhmao in 2010. It was during that visit that both dignitaries experienced Cambodian "Samlor Korko" for the first time, prepared personally by my wife for their lunch. Cambodia is moving forward based on international law. Please do not accuse Cambodia of "internationalizing" a bilateral issue, nor claim that Cambodia is setting a trap by inviting third-party or international involvement. Likewise, please do not urge Cambodia to establish a new bilateral mechanism to replace the one that Thailand has unilaterally cancelled. It is my hope that Cambodia and Thailand will join hands in moving toward an appropriate international mechanism with jurisdiction over maritime issues.