Thai Panel Defends Scrapping Border MOUs to ASEAN+3 Diplomats
Thailand's Senate committee briefed ASEAN+3 diplomats on plans to revoke 1990s border agreements with Cambodia, arguing they fail to protect Thai sovereignty amid unresolved territorial disputes and repeated Cambodian violations.
BANGKOK — On May 22, 2026, Thai Senator Noppadon Inna briefed ASEAN+3 diplomats on Thailand's effort to revoke the 2000 and 2001 Memorandums of Understanding with Cambodia, arguing these agreements undermine Thailand's sovereignty and national interests amid persistent border and maritime disputes.
On Friday, the Senate Extraordinary Committee investigating the advantages and disadvantages of scrapping the two MOUs held a special briefing at Parliament in Bangkok. The session, chaired by Noppadon, drew ambassadors and diplomatic envoys from ASEAN nations as well as China, Japan, and South Korea.
Noppadon said the briefing aimed to explain the committee's conclusions directly to regional diplomats following heightened international focus on the Thai-Cambodian border situation. The committee unanimously recommended revoking both agreements after months of field research, consultations with military leaders, and examination of legal and historical documents.
According to Noppadon, the committee consulted with the Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy, Ministry of Defense, and the Foreign Ministry's Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs. The panel also conducted field surveys across seven border provinces and received briefings from the First and Second Army Areas about previous armed conflicts and border tensions.
The committee determined that the MOUs no longer adequately safeguard Thailand's territorial sovereignty, maritime rights, or national security, particularly given unresolved overlapping land and sea claims.
In remarks to the diplomats, Noppadon contended that ongoing ambiguity over border demarcation has fueled persistent tensions between the nations, especially stemming from conflicting interpretations of historical maps, including the contentious 1:200,000-scale map tied to the Franco-Siamese boundary delimitation process.
He also alleged Cambodia has repeatedly violated agreements, dismissed Thai diplomatic complaints, and committed provocative actions along the border.
Noppadon cited Ban Nong Chan in Sa Kaeo Province and Chong An Ma in Ubon Ratchathani Province as examples.
Regarding Ban Nong Chan, he noted that hundreds of thousands of Cambodian refugees fled into Thailand during Cambodia's civil war in 1979. Thailand, working with organizations including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Thai Red Cross, provided humanitarian assistance, food, shelter, and medical care at border refugee camps.
Noppadon asserted that after the conflict concluded, some Cambodian nationals refused repatriation and continued settling on Thai soil, creating long-standing friction that eventually escalated into armed skirmishes.
At Chong An Ma, he stated Thailand had temporarily eased border controls as a humanitarian and neighborly gesture.
