Closing of the 15th International Scientific Conference on the East Sea

On October 26, 2023, the second working day of the 15th International Conference on the East Sea, there were 04 main discussion sessions and 01 important speech.

In Session 5 “The Role of the Coast Guard in Enhancing Cooperation in the East Sea” , scholars emphasized the importance of cooperation between Coast Guard forces in the region. Most delegates expressed deep concerns about “gray zone” activities, some unilateral activities of Chinese coast guard vessels in the East Sea recently.

Opinions all emphasized the importance of Coast Guard diplomacy; it was believed that small and medium-sized countries should promote cooperation, interaction with each other, act consistently, and unite based on international law to create collective strength, including recommendations to institutionalize the ASEAN Coast Guard Forum. Some opinions said that countries in the region need to unify the standards of Coast Guard vessels, cooperate in sharing expertise in law enforcement at sea, protect safety, the marine environment and maintain order at sea, and improve the skills and professionalism of the Coast Guard. Some opinions suggested that regional Coast Guards cooperate in building maritime security capacity with major countries in and outside the region, and develop codes of conduct to control the behavior of Coast Guard forces.

At Session 6 “Decision time: Traditional energy or renewable energy?” , Scholars presented on offshore wind power development, energy conversion and exploitation of rare earth resources. Scholars said that green and sustainable transformation in the exploitation, production and use of energy and marine resources is an irreversible trend. Countries must balance between exploitation and conservation of marine ecosystems, contributing to achieving the 7th goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and the COP26 target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Most delegates highly appreciated Vietnam's wind power potential with a large exclusive economic zone and huge rare earth resources - second in the world, after China. There were recommendations on the synchronous exploitation of traditional and renewable energy and the conversion of traditional energy into green energy through the use of technology and CO2 storage capacity. Some delegates shared lessons learned in attracting investment in offshore wind power, saying that it is necessary to have a consistent and reliable institutional framework, reduce administrative procedures, be clear and simple, update information and involve the people. In addition, the exploitation of offshore wind power needs to pay attention to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982) regarding the 500-meter safety zone and "appropriate measures" to ensure maritime traffic safety.

In addition, some opinions say that the challenge of offshore wind power is not only about maritime traffic safety. The world has not yet fully and comprehensively assessed the challenges that offshore wind power stations create for the ecological environment and animal life in the sea and dependent on the sea. Some opinions say that deep sea resources in areas outside national jurisdiction are the common property of humanity, but the question is who has the right to access these resources, especially in the context of companies and non-state entities, multinational companies with financial and technological potential are increasingly competing to gain access. Other opinions say that exploiting deep sea resources is not only an environmental issue but is also becoming a geopolitical issue in the fierce competition between major countries.

Ms. Paola Pampaloni, Acting Director General of the Asia and Pacific Department, EU External Action Service (EEAS) attended the webinar and delivered an important speech. For the EU, multilateralism is of great significance, in the context of increasing unilateralism and great power competition. Ms. Pampaloni emphasized: Multilateralism continues to be the most effective tool in international relations, beneficial to all, so that countries can cooperate with each other to resolve disputes and achieve common goals. Multilateralism and international law cannot be separated; participation in multilateralism cannot be an "optional" process.

The EU has vital strategic and economic interests linked to maritime security and the prosperity of the countries bordering the East Sea. Peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea are of vital importance to the EU. The EU strongly opposes any actions that increase tensions and undermine the rules-based order. Ms. Pampaloni affirmed that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) is a “guiding light” and “compass” for the peaceful resolution of disputes in the region. In addition, the EU supports the ASEAN-led negotiation process towards an effective, substantive and legally binding COC, in which the COC must respect the interests of third parties and be consistent with international law. She reaffirmed that the EU always supports effective multilateralism and supports the principle of ASEAN centrality. The EU has been strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and ASEAN member countries, including Vietnam, in areas such as capacity building, enhancing maritime spatial awareness and enhancing maritime presence; through specific programmes and projects such as CRIMARIO, ESIWA, etc.

Session 07 on “Critical Infrastructure: The New Strategic Implications of Technology” focused on assessing the importance and resilience of undersea infrastructure and making recommendations to enhance the security of these infrastructures. It is widely believed that all countries, whether landlocked or not, depend on undersea infrastructure, including submarine cables, to connect and transmit information and data. This dependence on offshore infrastructure is increasing as the world transitions to green energy. However, sea areas in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including the South China Sea, have all experienced incidents of submarine cables or pipelines being disrupted. The two main factors affecting the vulnerability of submarine cable systems are geopolitical tensions and the dominant role of some large technology corporations in the installation and operation of submarine cable systems. In addition, some have argued that the vulnerability of submarine cable networks stems from the fact that they are hard, immovable infrastructure, and their location on the seabed makes them difficult to monitor and time-consuming to troubleshoot. This makes them vulnerable to attack and sabotage. To address this issue, scholars have argued that countries should prioritize the security of seabed infrastructure as critical infrastructure, at the same level of priority as economic and defense security. In addition, given their global interdependence and location, there is a need for a regional and international framework for cooperation to ensure the construction, maintenance, and protection of critical infrastructure.

In Session 8 “Voices of the Next Generation”, 5 speakers in the Young Leaders program of the Conference from Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and the International Organization for Sustainable Integrated Management of the East Sea (PEMSEA) discussed the concerns of the younger generation in issues related to the East Sea; and shared some ideas and proposals to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous East Sea. Young speakers affirmed that in addition to the region's concerns so far related to maritime disputes between countries, especially actions to carry out claims that cause insecurity and maritime safety, Southeast Asia in general and the East Sea in particular are facing many other non-traditional threats such as climate change, rising sea levels, depletion of marine resources, lack of clean energy, etc. Young speakers said that in order to achieve peace and stability in the East Sea, countries in the region must increase respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and the Arbitral Tribunal's Award Annex VII in the East Sea case; promptly complete the COC and especially strengthen cooperation with each other as well as with countries outside the region to jointly address issues of common concern such as developing clean energy, promoting marine scientific research, preventing rising sea levels, and protecting marine ecosystems.

In his closing speech at the workshop, Dr. Nguyen Hung Son - Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Academy assessed that the workshop had pointed out the great potential of the sea and ocean, and proposed many mechanisms and creative cooperation ideas to realize the potential of the sea. Dr. Nguyen Hung Son emphasized the need to maintain a peaceful environment, enhance dialogue and cooperation to enhance the effectiveness of international law, multilateral cooperation mechanisms, reduce unilateral actions, thereby "narrowing the gray sea area". In particular, Dr. Nguyen Hung Son emphasized the need to look to the future, build a team of experts and young leaders in the region who are interested, knowledgeable and have the habit of dialogue and cooperation./.

Source link