BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand has appointed two former presidents of an international maritime court to a compulsory conciliation commission under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to support maritime talks with Cambodia. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said the cabinet approved his appointment as head of the Thai negotiation team, with Songchai Chaipatiyut, the Thai Ambassador to Kuwait, serving as deputy.
The two additional conciliators selected by Thailand are South African and German nationals, both of whom are former presidents of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). With Thailand and Cambodia each appointing two conciliators, a fifth member must be selected within one month to serve as chairperson before formal talks can begin. Sihasak clarified that the commission does not function as a court but aims to provide frameworks to assist ongoing bilateral talks. Thailand maintains that the scope of conciliation should initially focus on maritime boundaries and the continental shelf, rather than joint development zones as proposed by Cambodia. The commission will examine the overlapping claims to determine the exact extent of the maritime boundaries before addressing options for joint underwater development, Sihasak added. (TNA)
