PHNOM PENH, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Tuesday that the kingdom has delivered a formal notice to Thailand and to the UN secretary general to begin compulsory conciliation proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) concerning the overlapping maritime claims with Thailand.
"We have taken this step to protect Cambodia's sovereignty and maritime rights in accordance with international law," he said in a special statement. "Cambodia has always sought to resolve dispute with our neighbors peacefully."
"Let me be clear, initiating the compulsory conciliation under the UNCLOS does not mean that Cambodia is turning away from dialogue. Cambodia is bringing dialogue into a structured international framework recognized by both countries," he said.
The statement came after Thailand unilaterally scraped the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding concerning the overlapping maritime claims between the two countries (MOU2001) on May 5. ■