PHNOM PENH, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said here on Tuesday that the kingdom will still pursue a compulsory conciliation mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), rejecting bilateral negotiations with Thailand to resolve the maritime dispute.

An aerial drone photo taken on March 16, 2025 shows a view of Sihanoukville Port in Cambodia. (Photo: Xinhua)

Thailand unilaterally scrapped the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding concerning overlapping maritime claims between the two countries (MoU 2001) on May 5.

"It's unreasonable to cancel the bilateral mechanism and to hold new bilateral negotiations," he said during a parliamentary session. "If Thailand really wants to negotiate bilaterally, it should not scrap the MOU 2001, but use it for negotiations."

"The Cambodian government's position is not backward," Hun Manet said. "The government will still initiate a compulsory conciliation mechanism under the UNCLOS to resolve the maritime dispute with Thailand."

The statement came after Thai media reported on Monday that Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said that under the UNCLOS, after the cancellation of the MoU 2001, the process must proceed within the framework of the convention, which involves several stages, and the primary method should first be negotiations between the two parties.