At the International Scientific Conference on the East Sea, the majority of scholars agreed that the issue of peace and stability in the East Sea is important, a priority for all countries, and they wish to avoid clashes and confrontations.
Delegates attending the opening session. (Photo: Xuan Khu/VNA)On October 25, the first day of the 15th International Scientific Conference on the East Sea “Narrowing the gray sea, expanding the blue sea” organized by the Diplomatic Academy in Ho Chi Minh City, there were many important speeches in 4 main discussion sessions.
In her speech, Ms. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific at the UK Foreign Office, said that Vietnam and the UK are close partners on maritime security issues; attending this workshop because what is happening in the East Sea is a global concern, especially in the context of conflicts disrupting global supply chains.
The UK always wants to strengthen relations with partners and support sustainable development, jointly respond to common challenges to protect a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
According to the UK Foreign Office Minister, the UK always respects and appreciates ASEAN's central role in maintaining peace and prosperity in the region; affirms to strengthen its commitment to ASEAN and its member countries through specific projects such as the Blue Planet Fund, the agreement to establish the Just Energy Transition Partnership; affirms that the UK will continue to maintain its commitment in the region because peace and stability in the East Sea is a priority for all countries.
Mr. Martin Thümmel, Commissioner for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Federal Foreign Office of Germany, expressed concern about the recent escalation of tensions in the East Sea, especially the incident in which Chinese coast guard and maritime militia ships collided with Philippine ships in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on October 22, 2023.
Mr. Thümmel reiterated the need for full compliance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Award of the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to UNCLOS on the South China Sea Arbitration between the Philippines and China.
Ensuring prosperity and shaping a regional order based on international law requires cooperation among countries in the region. Two years ago, Germany issued its Indo-Pacific Policy Guidelines, which include an important aspect of the effective implementation of international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
ASEAN plays a key role in upholding international law and a constructive approach in the region. The maritime delimitation between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam and the ongoing negotiations have served to promote regional cooperation.
Germany emphasized that the determination of maritime zones must comply with the provisions of international law, UNCLOS. Only from the land structure can maritime zones, territorial waters and the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) be determined.
The 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling rejected China’s claim to historic rights, finding that no feature in the South China Sea has a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The German-French-British Joint Statement on the situation in the South China Sea stressed respect for international law. Germany has stepped up cooperation in building maritime security capacity for countries in the region, such as the coast guards of the Philippines and Malaysia.
Germany has deployed naval ships to the East Sea in 2021 and 2022 and will continue to maintain its presence to support the stability of regional security in the coming time.
In Session 1 "East Sea: The past 15 years," delegates said that 15 years ago, there was not much attention from the international community, the East Sea was considered a bilateral dispute between countries in the region and countries did not pay much attention to conflict management measures.
However, in recent years, the East Sea issue has seen many new elements and aspects such as: multilateralization, internationalization; militarization of occupied waters and areas; international law being mentioned in dispute management.
The 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award has drawn a clear legal picture for the East Sea by clearly defining the legal status of entities in the East Sea such as rocks, submerged banks, low-tide elevations and rejecting China's nine-dash line claim. However, the dispute continues to be tense because China does not recognize the Award, continues to enforce the nine-dash line claim and has recently announced it as a broken line.
The first working session of the Workshop. (Photo: Xuan Khu/VNA)According to delegates, there are many “gray zone” activities at sea, including the careful preparation of the parties, using advanced equipment such as modern ships, satellites, and drones to record and publish information that is beneficial to them. The East Sea is now considered an international issue, with more risks of conflict, and if a conflict does occur, it will easily escalate and expand.
At the same time, countries are more interested in promoting dispute management measures such as the process of building a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC), which is making some positive progress.
However, at present, there are still some controversial issues in the COC negotiations such as: scope of application, legal effect, enforcement mechanism, role of third parties... The above new aspects and factors make the East Sea issue increasingly receive attention from both the international and regional communities, in the context of that role, the position of the East Sea in the global economic and strategic competition and in the Indo-Pacific is increasing.
In Session 2 "Major Powers and Major Responsibilities: Cooperation and Coexistence in the Context of Increasing Competition?", scholars assessed major power relations in general and the East Sea issue in particular, mentioning the interests and perspectives of major powers as well as the impact of technological competition on the situation in the East Sea.
Most scholars agree that the issue of peace and stability in the East Sea is important and a priority for all countries, and they wish to avoid clashes and confrontations in the region.
However, contrary to the above wishes, the current situation in the East Sea is becoming more tense, especially in the context of many changes in the world order, the overall capacity of some countries is changing, along with the desire to build new rules of the game suitable to their position as a major country.
Scholars believe that the views of major countries on the East Sea issue are fundamentally different. Some views see the East Sea dispute as a multilateral issue that affects the interests of the international community and the region.
Meanwhile, some other viewpoints view the East Sea issue through the lens of great power competition. This is the cause of the lack of trust between countries and thus makes the East Sea situation more tense.
Some shared opinions that the act of building a network of technical infrastructure that allows control over the East Sea area is also a factor that negatively affects regional peace in the future. Besides, some scholars said that countries can still share experiences and promote transparent cooperation in the field of technology and engineering in the East Sea area.
Professor Carl Thayer, University of New South Wales, Australia, speaking at the workshop. (Photo: Xuan Khu/VNA)In Session 3, “Multilateral Approach to the East Sea: A New Trend?”, experts focused on discussing the trend and role of multilateral approaches to the East Sea issue. From the ASEAN perspective, multilateralism plays an important role for small countries, contributing to minimizing risks, especially when dealing with aggressive actions by big countries.
Some argue that in the current challenging context, ASEAN still plays an important role but is not the only one in the East Sea issue. However, most opinions affirm that so far, ASEAN continues to demonstrate its central role, has built and operated many mechanisms to lead regional countries and other multilateral groups. ASEAN needs to continue to promote its leading role in issues that require collective action and efforts, including maritime security.
Some experts suggest that blue economy cooperation is a way to balance economic growth and sustainable management of seas and oceans, in which the country is an important subject, and the navy can play a role in ensuring sustainable use of the sea.
[Conference on the East Sea: “Narrowing the gray sea, expanding the blue sea”]
In Session 4 “Is a Legal Framework Needed for Legal Warfare?,” scholars shared diverse approaches to “legal warfare”; agreeing that many states today use law as a tool to achieve strategic goals.
It is argued that “legal warfare” is just one of many tools in “gray zone” operations; it is understood not only as misinterpreting and misapplying existing international principles and regulations, but also as taking advantage of loopholes that international law has not yet adjusted to new issues.
There are also opinions pointing out that in the East Sea, some subjects have used the law, promulgated domestic laws, and interpreted the law in a distorted way in order to "choose in their own favor" to strengthen maritime claims that are inconsistent with international law, eroding the legal order at sea.
The majority continue to affirm international law, of which the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is the backbone and framework for the conduct of nations at sea.
There are also suggestions that small claimant states in the South China Sea should band together to fight against the trend of distorting the use of law.
On October 26, the 15th International Scientific Conference on the East Sea will continue with 4 main discussion sessions on the following topics: The role of the Coast Guard in enhancing cooperation in the East Sea; The decisive moment: Traditional energy or renewable energy?; Essential infrastructure: New strategic significance of technology; The voice of the next generation./.
Source
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)