Cambodia has appointed two prominent international legal experts to serve on a compulsory conciliation commission under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as part of efforts to address its maritime dispute with Thailand.
According to Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Chan Ratana, Cambodia has given Thailand 21 days to nominate its representatives to the commission. If Thailand fails to do so within the specified timeframe, the appointments will be made through a United Nations mechanism.
The move follows Cambodia’s formal notification to Thailand and the UN Secretary-General on 2 June that it was initiating compulsory conciliation proceedings under UNCLOS regarding overlapping maritime claims.
Cambodian media reported that the two experts selected by Cambodia are Peter Taksøe-Jensen, a Danish diplomat who chaired the UNCLOS conciliation commission that helped resolve the maritime dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste between 2016 and 2018, and Jean-Marc Thouvenin, a French legal expert who has participated in numerous cases before the International Court of Justice.
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Prak Sokhonn, previously briefed representatives from 47 diplomatic missions and international organisations on the initiative.
Once fully established, the conciliation commission will oversee and guide efforts to resolve the maritime dispute through a structured international conciliation process.
According to Cambodian media outlet Fresh News, Cambodia turned to the UNCLOS mechanism after Thailand’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding, which had served as a framework for bilateral maritime negotiations.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has said that pursuing the UNCLOS process does not mean Cambodia is abandoning negotiations, but rather moving discussions into an internationally recognised legal framework.
