Thailand border threat pushes Cambodia to ratify UN sea treaty after over 40 years

A “threat assessment” of Thailand amid deadly land border clashes has finally convinced Cambodia to ratify a major UN maritime treaty, according to analysts.Speculation that the Thai navy might close off supply lanes in the Thailand" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="19574" data-entity-type="location">Gulf of Thailand also weighed heavily in Phnom Penh’s decision, they said.Phnom Penh ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) on January 16, more than four decades after signing the treaty. It is the last Asean member to do so.Passed during the fifth session of the National Assembly, the approval will be forwarded to the Senate for final sign-off.Cambodia signed Unclos in 1983, one year after the convention was adopted in Jamaica. However, the treaty entered into force only in 1994, primarily due to resistance from industrialised nations over deep seabed mining rules.Members of the Cambodian navy welcome US warship USS Cincinnati at Ream Naval Base’s pier in Sihanoukville on Saturday. Photo: APThe convention is a multilateral treaty concluded under the UN and a result of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held between 1973 and 1982.