Thailand on Tuesday scrapped a long-standing agreement with Cambodia aimed at advancing joint offshore energy exploration, its prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, resisting calls from its neighbour to maintain the 25-year-old pact.

Overlapping Claims

The Thai cabinet's cancellation of the 2001 agreement, which seeks to develop a framework to jointly explore hydrocarbons in parts of the Gulf of Thailand where the claims of Thailand and Cambodia overlap, had long been expected and follows two rounds of armed conflict between the two countries last year.

The withdrawal was an election campaign pledge of Anutin Charnvirakul, who earlier this year rode a wave of nationalism stoked by the fierce fighting with Cambodia to become the first Thai premier to be reelected in two decades.

'Cancelling the deal is not related to the border conflict with Cambodia, but part of my policy. It has been 25 years and there has been no progress,' Anutin told reporters, adding that Cambodia would be informed of the decision.

Cambodia's Response

Cambodia regrets Thailand's cancellation, its foreign minister Prak Sokhonn said.

Sokhonn in a statement said Cambodia will now initiate a compulsory conciliation mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, adding that Thailand's termination of the agreement does not affect Cambodia's lawful rights over maritime areas.

Despite multiple rounds of meetings, MOU 44 has made little progress since it was signed, with the process derailed by political instability in Thailand, intermittent disputes between the two neighbours and fierce opposition from Thai nationalists.