Description: Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, announced that Thailand would join Cambodia’s initiative to resolve the bilateral maritime territorial dispute through the arbitration of the UN under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He added that under UN’s arbitration, both countries would have a chance to reach a comprehensive territorial agreement which would stipulate resource sharing from the 26 thousand square kilometers maritime area in the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, announced that other land territorial disputes would not be engaged in the same manner and the bilateral negotiations would remain active for resolving the cross – border issues.
Impact: Thailand’s acceptance of Cambodia’s UN arbitration initiative, likely presents a figurative double-edged sword, and largely compartmentalizes the bilateral cross – border dispute. Thailand’s renunciation to resolve the border territorial dispute likely provides Charnvirakul with an opening in case he feels compelled to restore military operations. Cambodia’s call for UN mediation arrived after Thailand unilaterally revoked a 2001 framework agreement that outlined the sharing of resources from the contested maritime territory. The move to join the arbitration while emphasizing no further cooperation or mediation in other disputes likely indicates that Charnvirakul is under domestic nationalistic pressure to remain politically and diplomatically firm on Cambodia or a prompt restart of confrontations is in the making within the short to mid – term. Bilateral relations remain strained and both countries remain hostile to one another which significantly raises the potential for armed confrontations if substantial diplomatic capital is not invested in the upcoming negotiations.