On 5 September 2011, in response to media enquiries regarding Koh Kut, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, made the following statement:

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms that Koh Kut is under Thai sovereignty. The 1907 Treaty between Siam and France clearly stated that the French government ceded to Thailand the territories of Trat and all the islands situated to the south of cape of Laem Sing, up until and including Koh Kut; in exchange, Thailand ceded to France the territories of Siem Reap, Battambang, and Sisophon.

2. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Royal Thai Government and the Royal Government of Cambodia regarding the Area of their Overlapping Maritime Claims to the Continental Shelf, signed on 18 June 2001, also clearly indicates that Koh Kut is under the sovereignty of Thailand, which Cambodia has accepted and never challenged this fact. This is reflected in the map attached to the said 2001 Memorandum of Understanding showing that the upper line of the overlapping claims area was drawn southwardly surrounding Koh Kut instead of crossing over it.

3. Thailand and Cambodia will have to continue negotiations to delimit the exact maritime boundary in accordance with international law.

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5 September 2011

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