Thai-Myanmar Maritime Dispute Settlement under the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Lesson from the South China Sea Case
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Abstract
Thailand and Myanmar are involved in the maritime dispute from the river mouth of the Pakchan River to the Surin Island in the Andaman Sea. The dispute includes the territorial dispute over the Lham-Khan-Khi Nok Islands and the maritime boundary dispute, which is similar to the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China that in 2016 the Arbitral Tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex 7 of the 1982 United Nations on the Law of the Sea (the Arbitral Tribunal) ruled in favor to the Philippines. It is worthwhile to study that whether or not the Thai-Myanmar maritime dispute will be settled by the dispute settlement mechanism of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the LOSC).
The study explores that the dispute settlement mechanism under the LOSC comprises traditional consent-based procedure and mandatory procedure. The first procedure may apply to all disputes not only the dispute concerning interpretation or application of the LOSC but it relies on the consents of the both countries. On the other hand, Thailand or Myanmar may initiate the compulsory procedure for merely some issues. However, the application of compulsory is not worth. Accordingly, the negotiation should be the best approaches which the both countries are familiar with and full of experiences.
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References
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