Hou said the South China Sea was “not an issue” between China and Asean nations as the parties had conducted multiple dialogues under adequate mechanisms to reduce the risks.
China and Asean members signed the non-binding Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea in 2002, which commits them to freedom of navigation and overflight, undertaking peaceful settlement of disputes and self-restraint in the conduct of activities. Guidelines for implementing it were agreed in 2011.
However, the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), has long been delayed. Introduced in the 1990s, the code had been expected to establish a guiding framework for preventing or solving open conflicts in the disputed waters.
“We have the working mechanism for the implementation of the DOC, and also the written mechanism for the negotiations of the COC – we don’t need any kind of so-called help from external parties,” Hou told the forum, which was organised by the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong.
Despite both Beijing and Asean expressing optimism that an agreement would be concluded soon –
the third reading of the code was held a year ago – many doubt it can be wrapped up amid growing hostility in the waterway.
The South China Sea issue is a major security concern for China and Asean nations. China’s claims to the resource-rich South China Sea are disputed by several Asean members: the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Concerns over the region have been increasing rapidly as the stakeholders – particularly Beijing, Manila and Hanoi – conduct aggressive moves in the region, such as growing island reclamation, coastguard patrols and confrontations.
Tensions between the United States and China over the waters have also escalated, with the US pivoting to Asia and its closer alliances in the region, including with the Philippines and Japan.
President Joe Biden’s administration has set up defence alliances – including Aukus with Australia and Britain, and the Quad security dialogue with India, Japan and Australia – in addition to stepping up military drills in the region.
Last week, defence chiefs from the US, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Australia held talks in Laos on the sidelines of the
Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus security conference.
In Hong Kong on Thursday, Hou made clear reference to Washington, saying that in a context of widening protectionism and deglobalisation, a “certain country perceives so-called decoupling or de-risking [strategy], builds ‘small yard high fence’ practices”.
She said the behaviours obstructed smooth and resilient digital industrial supply chains as well as cooperation in emerging industries, creating a “really disturbing atmosphere for East Asian cooperation”.
Hou said the competition was now between “unity and division”, “cooperation or confrontation”, suggesting that Beijing represented the former path.
Speaking at the forum, Kuik Cheng-chwee, a professor in international relations at the National University of Malaysia, said China and Asean nations should seek more than one means to solve the South China Sea dispute.
“To manage the South China Sea [issues], like other bilateral territorial problems, we need not one tool, but multiple tools,” he said, adding that the parties could actively engage the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, and use more diplomatic and economic measures to expand options for managing the South China Sea issue.
Pham Lan Dung, ambassador and acting president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said on the sidelines of the forum that despite the South China Sea dispute largely remaining between China and some Asean countries, other nations had the right to raise concerns.
“If there is a disputed situation in the South China Sea that relates only to claimant states, then it is up to those states to settle the dispute. However, other countries, including the US and Western countries, if they have legitimate interests in the area, such as the right for freedom of navigation, they can raise their voice” she said.
Pham said Beijing might not prefer arbitration as a way to solve the South China Sea dispute, however seeking conciliation could be an alternative for stakeholders.
“Conciliation is a procedure provided in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which may be voluntary conciliation or compulsory conciliation,” she said, adding that Timor Leste and Australia had used compulsory conciliation to settle a maritime dispute.
“This is a very good example of how to use compulsory conciliation. In addition, compulsory conciliation would be seen more amicable and less adversarial, as compared to other judicial means.”
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