RULES AND ORDER
2022-11-14 | BY Hu Bo
Confidence-building measures (CBMs) are planned procedures to prevent hostilities, avert escalation, reduce military tension, and build mutual trust between countries. They have been applied since the dawn of civilization on all continents. In the South China Sea, CBMs are generally evaluated as a little low, especially in the context of rapidly expanding economic relations. Moreover, there is a wide range of doubts about why China and ASEAN member states have taken so long to conclude the Code of Conduct (COC).
2022-10-20 | BY Yan Yan
With the opening of a new round of face-to-face negotiation and the gradual progress of the second reading, it is foreseeable that the debate over the rules and order of the South China Sea in the post-epidemic era around the COC will become one of the most complicated factors affecting the region.
2022-09-13 | BY Hu Bo
In China’s surrounding waters, including the South China Sea and the East China Sea, despite the growing competition as well as sea and air encounters between two militaries, we should admit, that most of the encounters, more than ten times per day and thousands of times every year, are safe and professional.
2022-08-19 | BY Hu Bo, Lei Xiaolu, Yan Yan
Since 2018, the negotiation on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) accelerates and entered second reading. Despite the impact of COVID-19, all the parties still expressed the need of speeding up the negotiation of the COC.
2022-06-18 | BY Mark Hoskin
Drawing a comparison with the US’ own history as a development of the often-repeated boilerplate statement concerning Taiwan should be considered further and widely discussed, even if people might not agree with China’s statement for strategic or political reasons.
2022-05-05 | BY Mark J. Valencia
The U.S. is setting a dangerous example by unilaterally asserting and implementing its interpretations of terms in a treaty it has not ratified. If many coastal states enact unilateral national legislation prohibiting certain military and intelligence gathering activities by drones in and above their jurisdictional zones, then the prohibition against conducting such missions could become part of customary international law through state practice, despite the opposition of a few countries like the U.S. and its allies.
2022-03-21 | BY Hu Bo
In recent years, amid the backdrop of intensified China-US military competition, both sides agree on strengthening maritime crisis management. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of managing competition in the video call for multiple times. Before the new progress, it is necessary to summarize current mechanisms for China-US maritime crisis management.
2022-02-08 | BY Lei Xiaolu
It has been recently reported that the 400-ton armed fishing vessel TK 1482 ordered by the Vietnamese militia is about to be launched. It is not unusual that militia could be equipped with military weapons to support or replace regular military forces in warfare. While in peacetime, this practice is very rare.
The use of weapons on the well-equipped militia vessels would entail the risk of causing significant harm to regional security and stability.
2021-12-26 | BY Zheng Zhihua
There is no doubt that China and the Philippines have a territorial sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands, including Second Thomas Shoal. The United States has repeatedly stated that it takes no position on territorial disputes over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. However, it has now reneged on its prior statements and claimed to stand with its ally, the Philippines, to uphold the so-called “rules-based international maritime order”.These self-contradictory policy statements reveal that the United States has respect neither for the Philippines nor for its own pledges. Its true intent is not for maintaining a “rules-based order”, but for continuing its hegemony.
2021-11-08 | BY Zhang Xinjun
The legality of passage through the Taiwan Strait is one thing, using the passage for political maneuvering and provocation is another. The recent passages of foreign warships through the Taiwan Strait with accompanying blatant remarks deserves China ‘s attention on the timing, frequency, and the manner of such passages. The passages shall be condemned as they undermine the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.