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Cambodia, Thailand seek to revive oil talks

30 December 2011

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In a sign of thawing relations between Thailand and Cambodia, the two southeast Asian nations are reviving long-stalled plans for joint offshore energy exploration.

Thailand and Cambodia hold overlapping claims to undersea oil and natural gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand.

In 1995 the two countries began negotiations to jointly develop the disputed area but they broke down during the Thai military coup which ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

But with the election of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra earlier this year, there are fresh hopes a deal can be finalised.

Phil Kafcouledes spokes to Pavin Chachavalpongpun, the lead researcher for Political and Strategic Affairs at the ASEAN Studies Centre, based at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

Presenter: Phil Kafcouledes

Speaker: Pavin Chachavalpongpun,the lead researcher for Political and Strategic Affairs at the ASEAN Studies Centre