On 15 May 2026, at AmCam Exchange, the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS) organized a public lecture on Cambodia-Thailand Maritime Overlapping Claims Area (OCA): Issues and Consequences by Distinguished Speaker, Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to CCRS. Amb. Pou’s talk covered: (1)Undesirable diplomatic consequences; (2) Serious legal implication; (3) Lost of economic opportunities and increased regional tension.
However, the recent ASEAN Summit in Cebu provided a promising opportunity for face-to-face communication to discuss the next step after the cancellation of the MOU 2001 unilaterally by Thailand.
There is optimism that Bangkok and Phnom Penh appears ready for UNCLOS to climb down from the conflict of the previous year, and hopefully the coming AMM in July this year will provide the much-needed space to begin building back trust.
Link to Amb. Pou Sothirak’s presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MAkptEX3qPEH2w70tmpIXNwfEIaYrvZw/view?fbclid=IwY2xjawR18s1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFjRm1pVHpMNENNang2dDNqc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvwY-VXJol5t4M4VEfpRiwdy1pciQP-Y9Z4Oqx5zuf3sNLcL_9B68GPZAbKq_aem_My4Uaw0KdRDYSm6hV4627Q
Watch and read interviews of Amb. Pou Sothirak by Cambodia’s local press via these links:
Kampuchea Thmey English:
https://lnkd.in/gmmtPBjq
https://lnkd.in/gwuJ5_Tg
https://lnkd.in/gcbvKHj7
The News:
https://lnkd.in/gRW6KakK
https://lnkd.in/g3MmhAfK
Cambodianess:
https://lnkd.in/gQ8XYgKi
Phnom Penh Post:
https://lnkd.in/g8RRbYjE
