A Senate committee chairman has sought to ease concerns over Cambodia's move to invoke the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) conciliation process, saying any recommendations issued under the mechanism would not be legally binding on Thailand.
Senator Nophadol In-na, chairman of a Senate special committee studying the implications of revoking the 2000 and 2001 memoranda of understanding with Cambodia, said on Sunday that compulsory conciliation would not hand decision-making authority to a third party or replace bilateral negotiations between the two countries.
He said Thailand and Cambodia had previously agreed to exclude the maritime dispute from adjudication by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and arbitration panels.
