Danish diplomat Peter Taksøe-Jensen has been appointed as one of the conciliators in a United Nations-backed process aimed at helping resolve the long-running maritime dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, Reuters reports.
The appointment was announced by the Cambodian government after it launched a compulsory conciliation process under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The process follows Thailand’s decision last month to end a 2001 agreement that had provided a framework for negotiations over overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand.
Peter Taksøe-Jensen has previously served as the Danish ambassador to countries such as the US, Japan, India and Italy.
Peter Taksøe-Jensen will serve alongside French academic Jean-Marc Thouvenin as conciliators appointed by Cambodia.Taksøe is a former ambassador and has held several senior positions within the Danish foreign service and international diplomacy.
The dispute concerns an area of about 26,000 square kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand, known as the Overlapping Claims Area (OCA). The seabed is believed to contain large oil and gas reserves valued at around 300 billion dollars.
Thailand now has 21 days to appoint two conciliators of its own. The conciliators will then select a chairperson to complete the commission, which will operate under the oversight of the United Nations Secretary-General. The commission’s recommendations will not be legally binding but are intended to help the two neighbours move towards a resolution of the dispute.
