On the Thai-Cambodian border situation, the defence minister said Thailand must continue to follow the Joint Statement.
“I will never open the border crossings until all these steps have been completed, because we consider that we have already protected our sovereignty. The government’s policy has made it clear that we will not open the crossings until they comply with the Joint Statement,” Adul said.
He said negotiations would continue through existing mechanisms, including the Thai-Cambodian Regional Border Committee (RBC), which handles local-level talks and requires army region commanders to follow the policy direction.
The General Border Committee (GBC), he said, operates at the defence ministry level, while the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He confirmed that, as of now, Thailand would use these three mechanisms for talks and would continue to adhere to the Joint Statement.
He said there had been no private discussions, adding that the same approach applied to matters within the Royal Thai Navy’s area of responsibility following the cancellation of MOU 44, signed in 2001.
