2000 Border Agreement a Disadvantage: Expert

Mr. Sean Pengse

By Pin Sisovann, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
02 September 2009

A 2000 border agreement signed between Cambodia and Thailand is not likely to yield results in longstanding disputes, a former minister told VOA Khmer.

The agreement put Cambodia at a disadvantage, and border negotiations will face endless crises, said Sean Pengse, former Minister of Industry and a border expert.

After Cambodia regained peace and the reintegration of Khmer Rouge fighters into society, border trade flourished, and the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2000.

However, it would have been better for Cambodia to negotiate on the border from a position of a 1962 international court decision, which “set a clear border with no white zones,” Sean Pengse said. “Why are there now white zones? Why should Cambodia negotiate? I believe Cambodia’s voice in the negotiation is useless, because we beg aid form them. Our country is small, and we should use international law, from which we previously had an advantage.”