A spokesperson for Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Border Affairs rejected reasons and recommendations reported by Thai media as coming from a Thai Senate ad hoc committee seeking abolition of the 2000 land-boundary memorandum of understanding.
In a March 26 statement, the spokesperson called the arguments unfounded and contrary to international law, saying they sought political advantage and undermined achievements of the Joint Boundary Commission, or JBC.
The Cambodian statement described the MOU as a bilateral agreement binding under international law, signed and registered with the UN Secretariat, with obligations to resolve border issues peacefully through the JBC.
Citing the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the statement argued that domestic law or procedures cannot be invoked to cancel an international agreement, particularly one concerning boundaries.
Cambodia said abolition would obstruct peaceful settlement of border disputes and efforts to build a stable, peaceful and developing border region.
By: Nget Pisant
