PHNOM PENH — Cambodia has formally launched compulsory conciliation proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) after Thailand terminated a 2001 memorandum of understanding that had served as the main framework for talks on overlapping maritime claims.
In a national address on Tuesday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Phnom Penh had notified Thailand and the UN secretary-general of its decision to begin the UNCLOS process.
The move follows the Thai Cabinet’s decision on 5 May to withdraw from the 2001 MoU. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the agreement had failed to produce meaningful progress.
Hun Manet said Cambodia viewed the MoU as the only agreed bilateral framework for resolving maritime disputes and developing resources in contested waters. With its cancellation, he said, bilateral negotiations had effectively reached a dead end.
He stressed that UNCLOS conciliation is a peaceful legal mechanism aimed at facilitating negotiations through an independent panel of international experts, not an escalation of the dispute.
Cambodia expects the process to help achieve a fair and lasting settlement while protecting its sovereignty and maritime rights under international law.
