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Cambodian and Thai officials concluded their first meeting Wednesday under a U.N.-backed process to resolve a maritime dispute, after Thailand’s foreign minister opened Tuesday’s session with pointed criticism of Cambodia’s conduct.
“Cambodia expresses its sincere gratitude to the commission for its careful and considered approach to the proceedings,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “The Commission will continue to receive Cambodia’s full support.”
The Thai Foreign Ministry reiterated Wednesday that it remains committed to participating in the proceedings in good faith, while maintaining that bilateral discussion is the most appropriate way to resolve the dispute.
The dispute centers on overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand believed to hold large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons.
Cambodia in June launched a compulsory conciliation process under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, after Thailand unilaterally withdrew from a 2001 agreement that provided a framework for talks on the overlapping claims. The agreement allowed for discussions on joint exploration but had largely stalled since its inception, and returned to Thai political discourse after relations with Cambodia deteriorated following two bouts of deadly border clashes last year.
The UNCLOS mechanism allows a panel of independent experts, a five-member Conciliation Commission that Cambodia and Thailand each helped select and that is chaired by Australian diplomat Katrina Cooper, to examine the dispute and issue recommendations, though its findings are not legally binding. This week’s meeting, which included the two nations’ foreign ministers and their legal teams, took place at the Asia office of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Singapore.
The process is expected to take about a year, when the Conciliation Commission will issue its report, including its conclusions and recommendations. The commission will hold further meetings with both Cambodia and Thailand, which are expected to take place in the coming months, Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Thailand said the next meeting is expected in October.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said in his opening statement Tuesday that Thailand entered the conciliation process with a clear purpose: “to seek a solution on maritime delimitation that protects our rights.”
He also accused Cambodia of “playing the role of a victim” with “self-righteousness” and “hypocrisy” when it comes to international law.
He said Thailand wished to “give negotiations a fresh start” and that it had offered Cambodia an opportunity to hold direct talks, an offer he said Cambodia disregarded before moving to the UNCLOS conciliation process.
“Thailand stands ready to engage in this process constructively, with the aim of achieving, with the Commission’s assistance, a negotiated and equitable solution,” Sihasak said.
His Cambodian counterpart, Prak Sokhonn, said Cambodia is seeking a peaceful resolution that “serves the peoples of both nations.”
Sokhonn also said Cambodia is open to a joint development agreement for sharing resources, while Sihasak said the proceedings concerned only maritime boundary delimitation.
The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two sides’ diverging positions reflect a deeper disagreement over sequencing, according to Seng Vanly, an independent Cambodian political analyst and former lecturer at the University of Cambodia’s Techo Sen School of Government and International Relations.
Cambodia has said it wants a final maritime boundary agreement, but if that cannot be reached soon, it is also open to joint development and the equitable sharing of resources while negotiations continue. Thailand, however, has stressed that maritime delimitation should come first, Vanly said.
“In my view, a realistic compromise would be to allow both tracks to move forward at the same time,” he said. “The biggest risk is allowing the dispute to remain unresolved for another decade […and] it could also allow the maritime dispute to become more closely connected with wider political and border tensions between Cambodia and Thailand.”
Update: This article was updated with statements from Cambodia and Thailand following the conclusion of the UNCLOS meeting.
