PHNOM PENH: Cambodia initiated a United Nations-backed dispute resolution process on Tuesday (Jun 2) with neighbour Thailand over overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand where undersea energy reserves are valued at around US$300 billion.
The Southeast Asian nations have disputed maritime territories and the demarcation of their 800-km land border for decades, a legacy of the French colonial era.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, however, said on Tuesday he was not aware that Cambodia had initiated a compulsory conciliation process under international law aimed at resolving a long-running maritime boundary dispute with Bangkok, Reuters reported.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire deal in December after two rounds of deadly border clashes, but they have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations.
The move by Cambodia to begin the mediation process, taken under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), followed Thailand’s cancellation last month of a 2001 bilateral agreement on overlapping maritime claims and energy exploration.
Charnvirakul said his government had revoked the memorandum of understanding, known as MoU 44, due to a long-standing stalemate in implementing it.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on state-run TVK on Tuesday that his government had submitted a formal notice to Thailand and the United Nations secretary-general to “begin compulsory conciliation proceedings” under UNCLOS.
“We have taken this step to protect Cambodia’s sovereignty and maritime rights in accordance with international law,” Hun Manet said.
“Both Cambodia and Thailand stand to gain from a fair and lasting settlement agreed with the guidance of the international expert conciliators.”