Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has admitted discussing security and energy resources with the Cambodian government during his visit on Thursday.
The defence minister, who was accompanied by Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat during his trip, said yesterday he had discussed cooperation with Cambodia on a wide range of subjects.
Gen Prawit insisted the talks were informal and said no bilateral agreements had been reached as they would require clear plans and, most important of all, cabinet approval.
It was reported earlier Gen Prawit and Gen Anantaporn met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss energy resources in the oil-rich overlapping claims area (OCA) between Thailand and Cambodia.
The talks focused on how the two countries could work together to solve problems in harnessing the resources that have persisted for 20 years, Gen Prawit said.
"We couldn't get through to each other before, but now I think we can discuss just about every issue," he said.
According to a government source, Thai energy authorities have held periodic talks with Phnom Penh.
Gen Anantaporn said there was currently no progress on talks over energy resources in the overlapping maritime territories.
“We [the Energy Ministry] have no authority to negotiate on the OCA. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MFA] is responsible for the issue,” he said earlier.
"However, as we are on the operational front on this issue, we are ready to take immediate action on whatever the MFA can get from negotiations.”
In June, the Mineral Fuels Department said domestic energy supplies were approaching a critical point.
Current proven natural gas reserves of 8.4 trillion cubic feet and crude oil of 450 million barrels, equal just six years of power production.
This scenario assumes no new gas resources are found.
Thailand is running out of energy supplies as it relies too heavily on gas as its major power resource, it said.
The country has sought to find alternative resources, including in the OCA, following fierce opposition from civic groups to coal-fired power plants.