Expert Says Cambodia’s UNCLOS Move Offers Legal Path to Ease Thailand Maritime Tensions

PHNOM PENH, May 18, 2026 (KPT) — Regional expert Pou Sothirak said Monday Cambodia’s decision to pursue compulsory conciliation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) represents “the most honourable, respectable and legal way” to address growing maritime tensions with Thailand.

Sothirak, senior advisor at the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies and a former foreign ministry secretary of state, stressed the move should not be seen as provocation but as a bid to create clarity through international law after Thailand cancelled a long‑standing offshore energy pact.

Bangkok’s cabinet on May 5 approved withdrawal from the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding, arguing that talks had failed to produce progress after more than two decades. The MoU had provided a framework for negotiations over overlapping maritime claims and potential joint oil and gas development in a disputed 26,000‑square‑kilometre area in the Gulf of Thailand.

Relations between the two neighbours deteriorated sharply following border clashes in 2025 that displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Sothirak warned that abandoning the agreement risked deeper diplomatic damage but said Cambodia still believes cooperation and dialogue remain possible.

He cited Prime Minister Hun Manet’s recent remarks in Cebu emphasising peaceful dialogue and gradual confidence‑building. ASEAN, he added, has a strong interest in preventing escalation, with the Philippines encouraging engagement through regional mechanisms.

Cambodia has repeatedly stated it remains committed to resolving disputes peacefully through diplomacy and international law while safeguarding sovereignty and national interests.