Unlocking the Seabed Resources of the Gulf of Thailand

Overlapping claims to maritime jurisdiction are a key feature of the Gulf of Thailand. These competing claims have resulted from the Gulf's relatively small dimensions and complex coastal geography, allied to maximalist claims on the part of the coastal states. The Gulf of Thailand also represents a proven source of seabed oil and gas and this factor has contributed to making maritime boundary delimitation agreements difficult to achieve. In order to overcome deadlock in negotiations over maritime boundaries, the Gulf of Thailand states have repeatedly opted to create maritime joint development zones in order to exploit hydrocarbon resources believed to be located in areas of overlapping claims. This remarkable concentration of state practice on maritime joint development is reviewed here and the prospects for further such provisional arrangements of a practical nature are examined.