Cambodia Awaits Official Thai Notice on 2001 Maritime MoU Termination

Cambodia Awaits Official Thai Notice on 2001 Maritime MoU Termination

PHNOM PENH, May 9, 2026 — Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to use a dispute settlement mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to address their overlapping maritime claims, according to a senior Cambodian official.

The agreement was reached during a trilateral summit meeting involving Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines on the evening of May 7, the official said.

According to the official, the Thai side acknowledged Cambodia’s notification of its intention to proceed with the compulsory conciliation mechanism under UNCLOS, and both sides agreed to use the international legal framework to resolve their respective Overlapping Claims Area (OCA) in the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia formally notified Thailand of its position through a diplomatic note dated May 6, stating its intention to initiate the compulsory conciliation process under UNCLOS.

The official added that Cambodia has not yet received formal notification from Thailand regarding the termination of the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding governing maritime negotiations between the two countries.

Under Articles 65 and 67 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, parties seeking to terminate an international agreement are generally required to provide formal notification through diplomatic channels.

The overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand have remained a sensitive issue for decades due to competing claims over potentially resource-rich offshore areas believed to contain oil and natural gas reserves.

Neither the Thai government nor the Philippine side immediately issued a public statement on the reported understanding reached during the trilateral meeting.