Comments of Amb Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS, were quoted in a Khmer Times article on France’s roles in helping resolve border disputes between Cambodia and Thailand.
Pou Sothirak, a former diplomat and Distinguished Senior Adviser to the Cambodian Centre for Regional Studies, told Khmer Times in a recent interview that France holds a moral responsibility in helping Cambodia and Thailand resolve their year-long border dispute given its historical role as Cambodia’s representative.
“Cambodia was a French protectorate from 1863 to 1953, and during this period, the French administration played a central role in defining Cambodia’s territorial boundaries, including areas bordering Thailand,” he said.
He called on the French government to step up to help the two countries settle their differences to prevent further damage, adding that playing the role of a third-party observer, he stressed, is “too general and not enough” for the former colonial master.
“Cambodia has been respecting and referring to the French map and the two agreements when it comes to dispute settlement, while Thailand, on the other hand, is trying to rely on its unilaterally drawn maps,” Sothirak said.
“Thailand has been criticising the old maps as out-of-date, but according to international laws, as long as there is no new treaty to replace the agreement and maps, these old materials remain effective and essential.”