Thai FM believes bilateral talks with Cambodia can resume

Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said today that he is optimistic that Thailand and Cambodia can resume bilateral talks, to resolve their border dispute and avoid potential clashes and unnecessary loss of life.

He said that channels for talks are still open for both sides, in addition to the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), the Regional Border Committee (RBC) and the General Border Committee (GBC), adding that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra wants a bilateral dialogue to resume as quickly as possible and the Thai Foreign Ministry has been trying to make that happen, “although it is not easy.”

Asked to comment on a report that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has rejected JBC talks, Maris said he understood that Hun Manet did not mean Cambodia has completely rejected the JBC channel, but that it wants to see some progress before further JBC meetings.

He also said that the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh and the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok are two channels through which the two countries can start talking, even though the Thai ambassador is not in Cambodia and the chargé d'affaires remains in charge.

The Thai foreign minister dismissed any suggestion that Thailand has downgraded its diplomatic relations with Cambodia, by recalling its ambassador to Bangkok. He also rejected the idea of third party mediation in the conflict, claiming that the neighbouring countries can work their differences out bilaterally.