THE WASHINGTON ACCORD: “A FRAUDULENT TREATY” THAT CAUSED SIAM TO LOSE THE EASTERN PROVINCES

Abstract

  This research aims to study the 1946 Washington Accord between Siam and France to determine whether it was a legally valid international treaty or a sham agreement that resulted in Siam's loss of the Burapha region to France. France returned the territory to Cambodia upon Cambodia's independence on November 9, 1953. The research primarily focused on documents, covering the period from the Rattanakosin period during the reign of King Rama I to 1947. Data were analyzed using content analysis, emphasizing triangulation and classification. Data were then inferred using inferential methodology within the framework of the study.

The research results revealed that the 1946 Washington Accord was a treaty signed by the government of Rear Admiral Thawan. Thamrongnawasawat went to sign an agreement with the government of the French Republic in Washington on 17 November 1946, which resulted in the cancellation of the Tokyo Convention of 1941, forcing Thailand to return the Eastern Provinces, namely Battambang, Siem Reap, and Sisophon, to France.

However, the Washington Accord was not ratified by the Thai Parliament as required by Article 76 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2489 (1946).

Therefore, the Washington Accord was considered incomplete under international law and regarded only as an executive agreement between the governments of Thailand and France, not a fully binding treaty. It thus could not legally repeal the Tokyo Convention, which had been properly ratified by both countries’s Parliaments.

Moreover, the Washington Accord was made under pressure and lacked good faith (Bona Fide), as it was influenced by threats and false accusations that Thailand had been part of the Axis powers. It also denied the people of the Eastern Provinces the right to Self-Determination to choose whether to remain under French Indochina or Thailand.

In summary, the Washington Accord, 1946 was an unfair agreement that caused Thailand to lose the Eastern Provinces without justice. Therefore, Thailand retains the right to reclaim these territories in the future.