Thailand and Cambodia seek maritime conciliation under UNCLOS

“If a final agreement on either a maritime boundary or a joint development arrangement cannot be concluded, Cambodia would request the commission to prepare a report containing recommendations to the parties,” he added.

Taking a hard line

Sihasak, however, challenged Cambodia’s portrayal of the events leading up to the conciliation.

“Cambodia suggests that Thailand’s decision to terminate the MOU left it with no option but to initiate these proceedings. This is simply not true,” said Sihasak, who is also Deputy Prime Minister. “The truth is that over a period of 25 years, we managed to hold only two rounds of official talks.”

He said he had personally proposed to Prak that their countries begin direct talks on maritime boundaries and that they should proceed to conciliation together if no agreement emerged within six months – options that Cambodia had “disregarded”.

“So, for Cambodia to claim that it had no other option but to initiate these proceedings after Thailand terminated the MOU was an outright distortion of the facts,” Sihasak said.

Yet, it may be more prudent for smaller countries like Cambodia to rely on international arbitration mechanisms to resolve conflict, said Hunter Marston, director of the South-east Asia programme at the Lowy Institute.

“Thailand, the larger power, would rather avoid international arbitration, but compulsory conciliation has forced its hand. The legal mechanism balances the scales by giving the smaller power a greater voice and resources to resolve the dispute,” he added.

At the meeting, Prak said he hopes the conciliation will bring benefits for both nations.

“Cambodia and Thailand’s relationship has been through a challenging period, and Cambodia hopes that the commission may be able to help the parties turn a new page for their mutual benefit,” he said.

Sihasak maintained that the door for dialogue with Cambodia remains open.

“Thailand stands ready to engage in this process constructively, with the aim of achieving, with the commission’s assistance, a negotiated and equitable solution. Conciliation can help the parties to identify common ground, narrow divergent legal positions and negotiate a way forward,” he said.

However, he drew the line at Koh Kood, an island in south-east Thailand, reiterating that it belongs to Bangkok and that the conciliation process should not concern “sovereignty over land”.

“There has never been a debate on this matter. Thailand rejects Cambodia’s 1972 continental shelf claim line, which is without legal basis,” he said.

Marston said it is unclear if these statements will have any impact on the PCA’s decision.

“Thailand is taking a bit of a hard line by attempting to limit the court’s remit to boundary delimitation and portraying Cambodia as acting in bad faith, while Phnom Penh struck a more conciliatory tone and left the court’s purview open,” he noted.

Thailand’s sharp comments have “already generated some online media attention and reactions”, said Deth Sok Udom, a professor of international relations at Paragon International University in Cambodia.

Cambodian netizens flooded social media with posts slamming Sihasak’s biting comments, accusing Bangkok of invading Cambodian territory.

Thai netizens hit back, defending Sihasak’s resolute stance while blaming the Cambodians for “distorting” the truth.

“The continued closed-door discussions could help address some technical matters, but any prospect for agreed demarcation appears dim from the outset, while any resource development framework conditional upon official demarcation would be complicated and politically sensitive for nationalists on both sides,” Deth added.

Conciliation buffers tense bilateral relations

Despite the squabble, analysts told ST they are optimistic that Thailand and Cambodia can resolve their differences through the commission, which comprises legal experts chosen by both countries.

“The fact that they are sitting together in a legal framework with conciliators that they have consensus on, instead of resorting to public displays of retaliation, reaction and unilateralism, is a good thing in and of itself,” said William Jones, an international relations assistant professor at Thailand’s Mahidol University International College.

Agreeing with this view, Paragon International University’s Deth called the process “pragmatic”.

“At the very least, the process will offer the parties more time and a mediated venue to discuss potential cooperation that could yield a win-win framework,” he said.

Jones believes the commission also wants to help the two come to a peaceful settlement.

“They have a vested interest in making conciliation work as an international example as well as pragmatically avoiding conflict between the states” he said.

“Thailand will accept the proposal of the committee as it’s not an outlaw nation (but) this doesn’t mean they will follow through with it,” he added.

Though some analysts have not placed much significance on the location of the inaugural meeting, Marston believes Singapore is an ideal site for neutrality.

The city-state will also take over as ASEAN chair in 2027, when the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia will most likely be a topic of discussion among the 11-member grouping.

“This will allow Singapore to exercise more continuity and leadership in the process and manage the dispute going into 2027,” Marston said.

ST understands that future conciliation meetings may take place in other PCA offices, based on scheduling and the convenience of all parties involved.

The PCA, which is headquartered in The Hague in the Netherlands, has offices in countries like Argentina, Austria and Vietnam.