Thailand’s new prime minister has said his government will propose a referendum to address an ongoing dispute with its neighbour, Cambodia, over a demarcation agreement.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters on Monday that “in order to avoid further conflict”, the government will push for a vote on whether Thailand should revoke the existing memorandum of understanding on border issues with Cambodia.
Thailand and Cambodia have long argued over undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border, but tensions sharply escalated in July during a five-day conflict. The fighting ended after a ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia on July 28.
In the worst fighting between the two countries in a decade, at least 48 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were temporarily displaced.
But for years, the two countries have relied on an agreement, signed in 2000, which sets out the framework for joint survey and demarcation of the land boundary.
In another agreement in 2001, it provided a framework for cooperation and potential resource sharing in maritime areas claimed by both countries.
However, in Thailand, the agreements have come under public scrutiny over the past decade, especially following the latest clashes.
According to Charnvirakul, the new referendum would provide a clear mandate on the matter of the agreements.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, cautioned against the revocation of the agreements as solving the issue.
“Their revocation may not be a direct solution to the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, because it could create a vacuum,” he told the Reuters news agency.
“The government must make clear what will replace them, and this has to be agreed by Cambodia as well,” he said.
At the same time, Charnvirakul also pledged in his inaugural speech in Parliament to address the country’s economy and push for a new and more democratic constitution as he faces a self-imposed deadline to call for elections in four months.
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