Thailand and Cambodia have opened international mediation in Singapore to resolve a long-standing dispute over overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand.
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ManyPress Editorial
Key facts
- •The conciliation commission is meeting at the Permanent Court of Arbitration office in Singapore.
- •The disputed maritime area covers 27,000 square kilometers in the Gulf of Thailand.
- •Hydrocarbon reserves in the area are estimated to have a value of US$300 billion.
- •Thailand withdrew from a two-decade-old bilateral framework for maritime negotiations in May.
- •This is the second time the UNCLOS conciliation process has been used since its inception.
Thailand and Cambodia have begun a United Nations-backed conciliation process in Singapore to address competing claims over maritime territory in the Gulf of Thailand. The opening session, held at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, follows Thailand’s decision in May to withdraw from a previous bilateral framework agreement. During the proceedings, Thai officials accused Cambodia of playing the role of a victim in the ongoing dispute.
By the numbers
Dispute Over Offshore Resources
The mediation concerns a 27,000-square-kilometer area of the seabed that is believed to contain significant oil and gas reserves. These hydrocarbon resources are estimated to be worth approximately US$300 billion. The two nations are utilizing the conciliation process established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to seek a resolution.
Context of the Mediation
This is only the second time in the history of UNCLOS that the conciliation process has been utilized, with the first instance involving East Timor and Australia in 2016. The current talks follow a period of heightened tension between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, which included deadly border clashes last year. Despite these land-based conflicts, Thailand has stated that its withdrawal from the previous maritime framework agreement was not linked to the border dispute.
Timeline
- Last yearThailand and Cambodia engaged in two rounds of deadly border clashes.
- MayThailand unilaterally withdrew from a bilateral maritime framework agreement.
- TuesdayThe two nations held the first session of a U.N.-backed conciliation process in Singapore.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by The Japan Times, South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia.
