Cambodia's top diplomat clarifies to conciliation commission that land and maritime issues cannot be linked, reaffirming they are two separate matters

Original publication: 2026-10-21T02:57:04Z

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His Excellency Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, firmly affirmed Cambodia's position at the 2nd Meeting of the Conciliation Commission on the Maritime Boundary Dispute in The Hague, the Netherlands, stressing that land border issues and maritime border issues are two separate matters with different legal frameworks and different mechanisms for resolution. The Cambodian delegation explained that both border issues have been addressed separately for the past 25 years; therefore, the suspension of land border work should not be used as a pretext to obstruct the maritime border dispute resolution process. His Excellency Prak Sokhonn affirmed that Thailand's unilateral termination of the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which serves as the bilateral legal framework for resolving maritime border disputes, has compelled Cambodia to seek a conciliation mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in order to defend the nation's sovereignty and legitimate interests. Regarding the Thai side's assertion that agreements related to the land border have been suspended or terminated, the Cambodian delegation reaffirmed that land border and maritime issues have different legal bases and different technical mechanisms, and they cannot be linked together to affect the maritime dispute resolution process. Nevertheless, His Excellency acknowledged that tensions along the land border could negatively impact the negotiations and conciliation process on the maritime border issue. For this reason, Cambodia proposed that the Conciliation Commission urge both sides to fully respect and implement existing agreements, in particular the ceasefire agreement and the joint declaration of 27 December 2025, in order to ease tensions and create a favorable atmosphere for a peaceful resolution of the maritime border dispute.Article by: សុភ័ក្រ្ត

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