The National Security Council, during its meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on 23 April 2026, resolved to terminate the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Thailand and Cambodia in 2001 regarding the area of their overlapping maritime claims to the continental shelf.

Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek cited three reasons for the meeting to make the decision, as follows:

1. The MOU B.E. 2544 (2001) was signed as a framework for negotiating joint management of offshore seabed resources between Thailand and Cambodia. Over more than 20 years, only five rounds of talks have been held, with both sides reaching no mutually beneficial agreement. Negotiations under the MOU, instead, have led to maritime boundary disputes, without shared development;

2. Cancelling the 2001 MOU is meant to end negotiations under this framework. If Cambodia still wants to pursue joint development, it should express its intention, or inform Thailand, so that both countries can negotiate a new, more feasible framework that avoids maritime boundary disputes;

3. Repeated Thai-Cambodian conflicts over 25 years have hindered the progress of negotiations, leading to failure to achieve the objectives of the MOU. If such conflicts persist, progress on joint development will remain difficult. Importantly, maritime boundaries must be agreed upon before joint development can proceed, on the basis of good faith and fair dealing.

The Government Spokesperson said that, in the next step, the National Security Council would submit its resolution on the MOU to the Cabinet for consideration.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, during his presentation of the Government’s policy statement to the National Assembly on 9 April, stated that the Government would continue efforts to reduce the Thailand-Cambodia conflicts through peaceful means and existing bilateral mechanisms, including expediting the study of approaches to terminating the 2001 MOU between Thailand and Cambodia regarding the area of their overlapping maritime claims to the continental shelf at the earliest opportunity.