Revisiting the Cambodia-Thailand Maritime Dispute: International Law, Politics and Nationalism
22
Issued Date
2024-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
15220966
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85203847649
Journal Title
Asia Pacific Issues
Volume
27
Issue
167
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Asia Pacific Issues Vol.27 No.167 (2024)
Suggested Citation
Jones W.J. Revisiting the Cambodia-Thailand Maritime Dispute: International Law, Politics and Nationalism. Asia Pacific Issues Vol.27 No.167 (2024). Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/101308
Title
Revisiting the Cambodia-Thailand Maritime Dispute: International Law, Politics and Nationalism
Author(s)
Author's Affiliation
Corresponding Author(s)
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Abstract
This article analyzes the historical and continuing CambodiaThailand maritime dispute in the Overlapping Claims Area of the Gulf of Thailand, first looking into the history of the dispute to identify primary sticking points that have led to the five decade deadlock and then considering current politics, attendant risks and possibilities of finding a solution to the deadlock. The author argues that policy makers have a historic opportunity to seize the moment by using large amounts of political capital accumulated in the elections last year to break the longstanding impasse. Policy makers must pay heed to nationalisms in both countries to lessen the risks of negotiation failure. If policy makers stick to international law as the basis of their negotiations and of the narrative they present to their publics, and push forward with territorial claims that provide for equitable distribution of the disputed area’s 11 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, both countries could achieve energy security in the short and medium term.