Cambodia Warns Thai Withdrawal Would ‘Abandon’ Maritime Framework

PHNOM PENH, May 4, 2026 (KPT) — Cambodia has warned that any unilateral move by Thailand to withdraw from a 2001 agreement on overlapping maritime claims would amount to abandoning the only bilateral framework used by the two countries for more than two decades.

Government spokesman Pen Bona said the memorandum of understanding, signed in 2001, had long served as the basis for resolving disputed areas of the continental shelf in the Gulf of Thailand.

“Thailand’s reported consideration of withdrawal constitutes an abandonment of the bilateral agreement underpinning cooperation between the two sides,” Bona said.

Cambodia expressed “deep regret” over the possibility of such a move, stressing that it had consistently prioritized dialogue under the MoU.

For more than 25 years, the pact has provided a mutually accepted framework for managing overlapping claims, reflecting what Cambodia described as a spirit of cooperation and goodwill.

Bona warned that withdrawing unilaterally would dismantle the sole mechanism relied upon by both countries.

Cambodia said it would then turn to international legal avenues, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to pursue a peaceful resolution.