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Cambodia and Thailand concluded their second meeting Sunday, agreeing on confidence-building measures in the U.N.-backed process to resolve a longstanding maritime boundary dispute. The conciliation commission has said that previously agreed measures remain “incompletely implemented”.
The third meeting will be held from November 24 to 27 in Kuala Lumpur.
“Both parties reached agreement on confidence-building measures aimed at fostering mutual trust,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, thanking the commission for facilitating an equitable and amicable solution in accordance with international law.
The second UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) round was held between October 14 and 18 in the Hague, where Cambodia said that among the agreed measures, both parties recognized that they have a right to make statements to protect their legitimate rights or to correct factual misinformation and disinformation.
During the meeting, the commission urged Cambodia and Thailand to implement existing agreements that have not been fully implemented. It asked both parties to put policies from the previous agreements and measures in place to create a conducive environment for constructive negotiations within the conciliation, read the statement.
However, Thailand said that the UNCLOS process must focus exclusively on maritime boundary delimitation, Thai media Khaosod reported.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak told the media that the proposed measures include refraining from accusations or statements in international forums that could undermine the conciliation process, as well as avoiding actions that might trigger confrontations between two countries.
The maritime dispute centers on overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand believed to hold large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons.
Cambodia launched the UNCLOS process in June after Thailand scrapped a 2001 Memorandum of Understanding on negotiating overlapping claims and jointly developing oil and gas in the sea.
Talks, which were scheduled to begin under the agreement, had stalled for years. The relationship deteriorated with Thailand after two bouts of deadly border clashes last year.
In September, Thailand released two Cambodian fishermen who had been detained since February, with the Thai navy claiming their vessel entered Thai territory.
But, Cambodia maintained that Thailand violated its sovereign territory and international law, stating that the fishermen were arrested approximately 7.2 nautical miles from Koh Yor in Koh Kong province.
Both Cambodian and Thai Foreign Ministries could not be reached for immediate comment.