Thailand will discuss maritime claims with Cambodia only under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on Tuesday, rejecting Cambodia’s reported attempt to register MOU 44 as evidence concerning a boundary line through Koh Kut in Trat province.
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Speaking at Government House in Bangkok on May 12, Sihasak said Thailand did not recognise Cambodia’s reported move to register the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding on overlapping continental shelf claims, known as MOU 44, before the Thai government announced its termination.
He said Cambodia is now a party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the same legal framework Thailand intends to use in future negotiations. According to Sihasak, discussions between the two countries should proceed only under UNCLOS.
“As for MOU 44, we have already terminated it,” Sihasak said. He added that negotiations under UNCLOS would be a constructive approach and help avoid wasting time, although he said it was still too early to determine which mechanism would ultimately be used.
The comments followed reports that Cambodia had registered MOU 44 as evidence relating to a maritime boundary line allegedly drawn through Thailand’s Koh Kut island in Trat province. Sihasak rejected the suggestion that such a claim could stand under UNCLOS.
He explained that any maritime boundary issue must be considered within internationally accepted legal rules under the convention. Sihasak said he did not know what Cambodia had “secretly registered” or how the process had been carried out.
The foreign minister stressed that Thailand and Cambodia would continue discussions only within the UNCLOS framework. Asked whether the reported move could affect Thailand’s claim over Koh Kut, he replied: “If a line is drawn, it will be clear that Koh Kut already belongs to Thailand.”
The Nation reported that the issue is expected to remain a key point in future Thailand-Cambodia maritime discussions as both countries consider how negotiations over overlapping claims will proceed following the termination of MOU 44.
Pictures courtesy of The Nation
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Adapted by ASEAN Now Nation 13 May 2026
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