The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), the Foundation for East Sea Studies (FESS), and the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association (VLA) are pleased to host the 10th South China Sea International Conference: “Cooperation for Regional Security and Development” on November 8-9, 2018 in Da Nang, Viet Nam.  

East Asia is a huge seascape. As a result, the sea’s connecting power is of a priceless importance to the entire region. The rules-based international maritime order is in everyone’s interest, including Japan.

The South China Sea is not nearing resolution, nor has it been “lost”. Instead, the “conundrum” is moving into a different and more difficult phase. Although things appear calmer on the surface, the pace of strategic change is accelerating in an unfavourable direction for Southeast Asia, with negative implications for the sovereign equality of small states rubbing up against the national interests of great powers, for adherence to international law and resistance to coercion.   

While much of the day-to-day work of managing U.S. diplomatic, economic, and security interactions in Asia seems to have continued unchanged, this belies a very significant difference in the Trump Administration’s apparent view of how the United States should engage with the world.

This paper argues that only on a rule-based order enforced by appropriate measures can ASEAN and its partners achieve a peaceful and secure maritime environment that benefits all. To ensure safety and security amid the shifting balance of power and mounting non-traditional threats, seafarers need legal instruments such as UNCLOS, a prospective regional COC between ASEAN and China, and more relevant regional institutions.