Cambodia's readmission was largely a side-show which masked the true issue facing the riparians: that the rapid economic growth experienced in Thailand relative to its neighbors had made even the modest sovereignty limitations imposed by Mekong agreements seem undesirable in Bangkok. Thailand and the other three riparians (led by Vietnam, the most powerful of the remaining three states) were locked in disagreement over whether Cambodia should be readmitted under the terms of the 1957 "Statute" (and more importantly, the 1975 "Joint Declaration"), with Thailand preferring to negotiate an entirely new framework to allow its planned Kong-Chi-Moon Project (and others) to proceed without a Vietnamese veto. Article 10 of the "Joint Declaration", requiring unanimous consent for all mainstream development and inter-basin diversion proved to be the main sticking point of Cambodia's readmission, with Thailand perhaps prepared to walk away from the regime altogether. The conflict came to a head in April 1992 when Thailand forced the executive agent of the Committee, Chuck Lankester, to resign and leave the country after barring the secretariat from the March 1992 meeting. This prompted a series of meetings organized by the UNDP (which was terrified that the regime in which it had invested so much might disappear), culminating in the April 1995 "Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin" signed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam in Chiang Rai, Thailand, creating the Mekong River Commission (MRC).