Ko Losin is in Tambol Baan Nam Bor, Amphoe Panare, in Pattani Province
This islet’s subsurface base is just some 50 meters wide, and the total area above sea level covers no more than 100 square meters, making it Thailand’s smallest island. This uninhabited rock has neither trees nor beaches and its only feature is a lighthouse sitting atop the rock, but despite this, this lonely outpost has major strategic importance through its control of the surrounding gas fields, as well as being a significant tourist attraction.
In the past, Thailand and Malaysia came into conflict over the declaration of their respective 200-nautical mile (370 kilometer) exclusive economic zones, and this then led to extensive overlapping claims over these countries’ territorial waters. The two countries began negotiations over these issues in 1972, with Malaysia basing its claims on international principles that involved the location of the maritime shelf, an argument that was significantly to Thailand’s disadvantage.
This division of the seas gave Malaysia complete control of the region’s natural gas reserves, but Ko Losin turned out to be the hero riding to Thailand’s rescue. This was because Thailand was able to extend its claim for territorial waters 200 miles beyond Ko Losin. This argument was substantially bolstered by the fact that, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea, because Thailand had long-maintained a lighthouse on the islet, its territorial claims to the area were sound.
The law states that the meaning of ‘island’ includes areas surrounded by water and this includes rocky areas or rocks protruding above sea level, such as Ko Losin. This then forced Malaysia to relinquish its claims to the area, allowing Thailand to extend its exclusive economic zone over the area’s reserves of natural gas.
Exploratory surveys of the area revealed that around 75% of the area’s natural gas reserves were near the Malaysian coast, and so Thailand’s access to these was only possible because Thai territorial waters extended beyond Ko Losin. And although this is really just a lonely lump of rock sticking out of the sea, because of the value of the gas that it sat near, Ko Losin earnt the name ‘the billion-baht rock’.
What is clear though is that Ko Losin is a valuable and bountiful site of oceanic biodiversity, and so it was quite right that the area was declared a protected marine zone, though of course, the law is just one tool that has been used to protect the island’s natural resources through this period.
Even in the face of the difficulties in front of us, the Let’s Sea Community is certain that if we work together, we will be able to maintain the fine balance required to preserve the world’s ecosystems and natural resources. Provided we have the participation of all sectors of society, we will be able to protect the natural world, and for as long as we maintain that desire, we will be able to ensure its sustainability. But however severe the laws that we pass or however advanced and efficient the tools that we use, we will not be able to achieve this lofty goal without one crucial ingredient: our motivation to achieve this and our will to act.
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