CCRS Deputy Director was quoted by Kiripost on “Cambodia Ratifies UNCLOS After 40 Years, Strengthening Maritime Sovereignty,” published on 17 January 2026.
“Him Rotha, Deputy Director of the Cambodian Centre for Regional Studies, said that it is important for a small state like Cambodia to ratify the UNCLOS. “We make the right choice,” he said, stressing that it gives the Kingdom an international legal tool to safeguard its maritime sovereignty.
“This could be a stepping stone that we can use to do maritime delimitation with our neighbouring countries, of which this maritime territory is not properly defined yet,” Rotha noted.
In addition, the convention also provides a proper legal framework for the use of maritime resources and international sea routes. “So, we can better access the international sea with legal protection,” he added.
For a small state such as Cambodia, having a multilateral framework like UNCLOS is the best available option, Rotha said. He added that Cambodia’s accession sends a strong signal of its commitment to international law and the rules-based order.
“This is important because we still uphold and cherish the principle of international law and rules-based order, amid the geopolitical complexity and the decline of international law and rules-based order,” he stated.”