Activists plan to rally over Koh Kut island territory dispute

Activists are planning demonstrations in Bangkok and Trat next week, calling on the government to clarify its position on the Koh Kut island dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
Pichit Chaimongkol, leader of the Network of Students and People Reforming Thailand, posted on Facebook that the group will hold a rally in front of Government House on Tuesday to oppose any attempt to cede territory on Koh Kut island in Trat to Cambodia.
“The Pheu Thai-led government said we will not lose Koh Kut. Can we believe them?” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Supitnattha Rangkatekaew, a member of the Vocational Student Group Protecting the Monarchy, said the group will hold a gathering on Saturday in front of the provincial hall in Trat’s Muang district to inform the public about the Koh Kut dispute.
However, Koh Kut district chief Phairat Soysang warned against demonstrations on the island itself, noting that protests could harm tourism, which is a primary source of income for local communities.
He added that more than 300,000 Thai and foreign tourists visit Koh Kut each year, generating several billion baht in revenue.
Tourism on the island is gradually recovering after the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Phairat said, stressing that Koh Kut belongs to Thailand under the 1907 French-Siamese treaty.
Koh Kut gained attention when key figures of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) held a press conference on Wednesday to oppose discussions on the joint development of oil and gas resources in the Gulf under the 2001 MoU framework, which they argue could result in Thailand losing territory.
They said the PPRP would submit an open letter to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra urging her to halt these talks. The MoU was originally signed under her father’s government, led by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, former finance minister and PPRP chairman of an academic committee, argued the MoU includes a territorial claim by Cambodia that contradicts the 1907 French-Siamese treaty, rendering the MoU itself illegal. The government itself says no talks have begun.
The government has assured that Thailand would not lose Koh Kut to Cambodia. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the government would make every effort to safeguard Thai territory.
Noppadon Pattama, a Pheu Thai Party list MP, said the 2001 MoU, signed by then-foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai, established a framework for negotiating maritime areas in the Gulf of Thailand claimed by both countries.