Thailand has appointed a four-member conciliation commission, including two maritime legal experts from Germany and South Africa, to negotiate with Cambodia over maritime boundary disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said he will serve as head of the Thai negotiating team, while Songchai Chaipatiyut, Thailand’s ambassador to Kuwait and former deputy director-general of the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, will serve as deputy head.
Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Songchai Chaipatiyut
Thailand has appointed two former presidents of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Germany's Rüdiger Wolfrum and South Africa's Albert Hoffmann, as foreign conciliators.
Sihasak said the Foreign Ministry had carefully chosen both experts, noting that they are internationally recognised for their expertise and experience.
Once Thailand and Cambodia have each appointed their two conciliators, the four members will jointly select a fifth member to serve as chairperson of the commission.
The process must be completed within one month before formal discussions can begin, Sihasak said.
He stressed that the conciliation commission is not a court and does not have judicial authority. Instead, its role is to facilitate discussions and provide recommendations to help resolve disputes, after which Thailand and Cambodia will continue negotiations between themselves.
Sihasak said Thailand believes the scope of the conciliation process should initially be limited to the delineation of maritime boundaries and the continental shelf.
He argued that Cambodia's proposal to include discussions on a joint development area should not be part of the initial process and that priority should be given to defining maritime boundaries clearly.
When asked who would decide whether Cambodia's proposal should be included if the two countries disagree, Sihasak said the conciliation commission would have to consider the matter.
He reiterated that efforts should focus initially on clarifying maritime boundaries and determining the extent of any overlapping claims. Discussions on the possible joint development of undersea resources should only take place after the maritime boundary issue has been addressed, he said.
Cambodia's two foreign conciliators are Peter Taksøe-Jensen, a Danish diplomat who previously chaired the UNCLOS conciliation commission that resolved maritime disputes between Australia and Timor-Leste, and Jean-Marc Thouvenin, a French academic and prominent international legal expert.
