MINISTER SAYS CONCILIATION WILL NOT IMPROVE TIES
Bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been on edge following two rounds of intense border clashes last year that killed nearly 150 people and displaced at least 300,000 on both sides, although a December ceasefire is still holding.
Cambodia’s decision to use compulsory conciliation – where a five-member panel delivers a set of non-binding recommendations – will not improve overall ties between the two countries, said Sihasak, who also serves as deputy prime minister.
“We simply don’t agree with how they approached this,” he said, referring to Cambodia’s stance.
So far, the UN-backed mechanism has only been used by East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, to successfully resolve a decades-long maritime dispute with Australia. That process took a little less than two years.
“If we do this through bilateral talk in a friendly way, it may take shorter time to reach an amicable solution,” Sihasak said.
“Now, we don’t know how long this will take.”
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