Cambodia’s Pursuit of Compulsory Conciliation under UNCLOS: Preah Vihear Legal Strategy 2.0

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet’s speech announcing the beginning of the compulsory conciliation process under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was an accurate explanation of the government’s commitment and strategy to confront Thailand’s aggressive actions against Cambodia in the maritime domain. It is important to note that this message seemed to be directed as much to the Thai people and international audiences as much as the Cambodian people.

This point is important because the Cambodian people are not at war with the Thai people; the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia is a political dispute and the Thai people as much as the Cambodian people have a lot at stake in ensuring the disputes are resolved in peaceful ways.

The prime minister explained how committed Cambodia is to resolving this and other disputes, specifically the ongoing border conflict with Thailand, in a peaceful way through international legal frameworks. This is no small commitment, in light of the Thai military’s ongoing, open occupation of sovereign Cambodian territory, some of which are sacred Cambodian cultural sites.

The prime minister emphasised Cambodia’s decision to pursue compulsory conciliatory measures to resolve maritime disputes with Thailand and how this is not an escalation of the dispute; rather, it is an affirmation of Cambodia’s pursuit of peaceful means of conflict resolution.

The current Thai government made their decision to leverage historical border disputes as a means to mobilise popular support for their election and agenda; however, it remains to be seen whether this aggressive foreign policy against Cambodia and the ASEAN region will be as successful as the Thai elite envision.

Youk Chhang is director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). The views and opinions expressed are his own.