Cambodia Accuses Thailand of Deliberately Delaying Border Talks Amid Maritime Dispute

Cambodia has accused Thailand of deliberately delaying talks on their land border by linking them to a separate maritime dispute under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, known as UNCLOS. Cambodia’s foreign ministry said the two disputes are governed by different legal frameworks and negotiation mechanisms. The response followed comments by Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow in Beijing, where he said land border negotiations had stalled after Cambodia began compulsory conciliation proceedings under UNCLOS over the maritime dispute. In a statement dated July 20, Cambodia’s foreign ministry rejected the Thai claim and said the UNCLOS process applied only to maritime issues. It said Thailand should not use the proceedings as a reason to suspend the work of the Joint Boundary Commission, which is responsible for negotiating the land border. “The choice of a maritime legal process cannot be regarded as a valid basis for suspending unrelated work on land border demarcation through the agreed Joint Boundary Commission,” a ministry spokesperson said. Cambodia said land border negotiations are conducted under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 and were reaffirmed in a ceasefire agreement reached on December 27, 2025. The ministry also accused Thailand of previously withdrawing unilaterally from bilateral talks on the maritime boundary, despite Cambodian requests for negotiations to continue. It said Cambodia’s decision to use UNCLOS mechanisms was a peaceful means of resolving the maritime dispute in accordance with international law and should not be treated as an obstacle to land border talks. The ministry called on Thailand to stop making what it described as excuses for further delays and to resume the land demarcation process under existing agreements. Cambodia also referred to a resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie on July 11, 2026, which it said supported Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for border demarcation to continue through the joint commission. The foreign ministry warned that indefinite delays could allow what it described as the unlawful Thai occupation of Cambodian territory to continue. It said such actions would violate principles contained in the United Nations Charter and the ASEAN Charter. Thailand has not responded in the article to Cambodia’s latest allegations.