Thailand and Cambodia eye oil and gas detente

Asian neighbours seek resolution on territorial dispute for hydrocarbons development that has spanned decades

The governments of Thailand and Cambodia are attempting to resolve a territorial dispute dating back to colonial times to allow development of oil and gas resources in the waters around the island of Koh Kood in the Gulf of Thailand. The island was granted to Thailand under a treaty signed in 1907 between colonial France and Siam, as Thailand was then called. The maritime border between the countries, however, was not clearly defined, and Cambodia argues the treaty’s wording implies the southern part of the island belongs to Cambodia.  The existence of oil and gas in the disputed waters was established in the 1970s. The two countries in 2001 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the