diplomatic academy of vietnam - maritimeissues.com folder/the 9th scs... · bien dong institute for...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
Foundation for East Sea Studies
Vietnam Lawyers’ Association
THE 9th SOUTH CHINA SEA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: COOPERATION FOR REGIONAL SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT
November 27-28, 2017, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
CONTENTS
CONFERENCE BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 2
PROGRAMME ..................................................................................................................................... 3
MEETING GUIDELINES .................................................................................................................. 10
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................................... 13
BIOGRAPHY OF ROLE PLAYERS ................................................................................................ 30
EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF PAPERS....................................................................................... 49
INDEX I: INFORMATION ABOUT VIETNAM............................................................................ 65
INDEX II: ORGANISING INSTITUTIONS ................................................................................... 71
DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM ......................................................................................................... 71
FOUNDATION FOR EAST SEA STUDIES ....................................................................................................... 75
VIETNAM LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATION ............................................................................................................ 78
2
CONFERENCE BACKGROUND
The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), the Foundation for East Sea Studies
(FESS) and the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association (VLA) are pleased to host the 9th South
China Sea International Conference: “Cooperation for Regional Security and
Development” on November 27-28, 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
This 9th Gathering aims to provide participants a special opportunity to assess the
current situation in the South China Sea from an interdisciplinary perspective and to
consider and to discuss measures to maintain peace and stability in the area and to
promote cooperation.
This 9th Conference will address the following topics:
TOPIC 1 Current state of affairs in the South China Sea
TOPIC 2 Powers' Interactions and Rule-based Order in the South China Sea
TOPIC 3 The military and paramilitary balance in the South China Sea
TOPIC 4 Activities at Sea: Sources of Conflict or Areas for Cooperation
TOPIC 5 Legal dimensions in the South China Sea
TOPIC 6 Sustainable Development and Cooperation Initiatives
TOPIC 7 Code of Conduct (COC): Substance and Process
3
PROGRAMME
Venue: Hotel Nikko Sai Gon, 235 Nguyen Van Cu Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Sunday – November 26, 2017
All Day Arrival of International Participants
6:30-9:00 PM Reception & Dinner (for Speakers and Role Players)
Location: Meeting Room 7, Hotel Nikko Sai Gon
DAY 1 Monday - November 27, 2017
8:00-8:30 AM Registration
8:30-9:45 AM OPENING SESSION
Moderator: Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, President of the Vietnamese Lawyers’ Association (VLA)
Opening Remarks by Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Vu Tung, President of
the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV)
Keynote Address by H.E. Judge Vladimir Vladimirovich
Golitsyn, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea (ITLOS) (2014-2017)
“Adjudication and Arbitration in Maritime Disputes and The
Role of International Law”
9.45-9.50 AM Photo Session
9.50-10.15 AM Coffee Break
10.15-12.00 AM SESSION 1: Current state of affairs in the South China Sea
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Vu Tung, President of the Diplomatic Academy
of Vietnam (DAV)
This session updates recent development in the South China Sea and explores different perspectives within the region in a search for causes of such development and identify alterations in key stakeholders’ approaches. Speakers are required to review the past, explore the major policy shifts and assess how they have shaped the current state of affairs in the South China Sea.
4
Speakers:
Prof. Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies, Centre for Policy Research, India
“South China Sea’s centrality to the Indo-Pacific region”
Prof. You Ji, Head of Department of Government and Public Administration, University of Macau, China
“De-escalating Tension in the South China Sea for Regional Stability and Cooperation”
Dr. Euan Graham, Director, International Security Program, the Lowy Institute, Australia
“The South China Sea Conundrum”
Dr. Aries A. Arugay, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines in Diliman, Philippines
“When Populists Perform Foreign Policy: The South China Sea Dispute and the Philippines under Duterte”
Prof. Pham Quang Minh, Dean of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
“Vietnam’s Strategic Options in the South China Sea in the Age of Trump”
12.00-1.00 PM Luncheon
1.00-2.40 PM SESSION 2: Powers' Interactions and Rule-based Order in the South
China Sea
Moderator: Prof. Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies, Centre for
Policy Research, India
As tensions are simmering, the South China Sea has become a theatre for rivalry among major and great powers, which prefer different set of rules and games. There has been no consensus on how the South China Sea issue should be managed and arising issues handled. This session explores major powers' visions for the South China Sea order and interactions among them. It is an urgent task for major users of the strategic waterway to understand each other's interests and preferences and discuss with coastal states rules and norms for conducts in South China Sea in support of peace and stability.
Speakers:
Prof. Shi Yinhong, Director of the Center on American Studies, Renmin University, China
“An Effect of Trump and More: The Emerging Retrenchment of China’s Strategic Posture”
5
Ms. Colin Willett, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, State Department, United States
“US’ perspective of the South China Sea Order”
Mr. Hideshi Tokuchi, Senior Fellow, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan
“A Japanese Perspective of the South China Sea Order”
Ms. Theresa Fallon, Member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP-EU)
“Challenges to Maritime Security in Asia and Implications for Europe”
2.40-3.15 PM Coffee Break
3.15-5.00 PM SESSION 3: The military and paramilitary balance in the South China
Sea
Moderator: H.E. Le Cong Phung, Vice Chairman, The Foundation for East Sea
Studies (FESS)
Over the last decade, the South China Sea has been more packed with a larger number of ships and aircraft. The greater concentration of force would increase the likelihood of encounters and clashes. This session takes stock of build-up, deployment, and other activities involving the military and paramilitary forces in the South China Sea region. The panelists are required to address the balance of naval and paramilitary forces, assess threats and risks to maritime navigation, security and stability of the entire South China Sea. They are also encouraged to work out proposed measures aimed at reducing “grey zones” and prompting de-militarization.
Speakers:
Dr. Fu-Kuo Liu, Senior Fellow, Institute of International Relations, Taiwan Chengchi University
“Naval build-up and deployment in the South China Sea”
Prof. Carlyle A. Thayer, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defense Force Academy, Australia
“Law Enforcement in the South China Sea: The Role of Regional Coast Guards”
Mr. Lyle J. Morris, Senior Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation, United States
“Grey zones between Navy, Law Enforcement and Maritime Militia”
Dr. Do Thanh Hai, Director, Center for Information and Analysis, Bien Dong Institute for Maritime Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam
6
“An Assessment of Strategic Threats and Risks in the South China Sea”
6:30-8:30 PM
Welcome Dinner (for International Participants and Speakers) hosted by H.E. Nguyen Thien Nhan, Member of Poliburo of Communist Party of Viet Nam, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ho Chi Minh City
Location: Conference Hall, Rex Hotel Saigon, 141 Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Note: Please be at 6:00 PM at the Lobby of Hotel Nikko Saigon for transportation
DAY 2
Tuesday - November 28, 2017
8:30-9:50 AM SESSION 4: Activities at Sea: Sources of Conflict or Areas for
Cooperation
Moderator: Prof. Carlyle A. Thayer, University of New South Wales at the
Australian Defense Force Academy, Australia
This session reviews a range of undertakings pursued by parties in the South China Sea. Speakers are requested to address key controversies over exploration and exploitation of natural resources, fishing activities, maritime navigation, anti-piracy and anti-terrorism training and operations. By exploring the stakeholders, perspectives, and motivations, the discussion is aimed to assess the likelihood of conflicts and escalations, and at the same time to map out the areas for potential cooperation, or further cooperation.
Speakers:
Prof. Renping Zhang, Director, Center for International Maritime Convention Studies, Dalian Maritime University, China
“Maritime Cooperation for Regional Security in the South China Sea”
Ms. Shafiah F. Muhibat, Senior Fellow, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia; Maritime Security Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore
“Law Enforcement and Illegal Fishing: Incidents in the Indonesian Waters”
Captain Martin A. Sebastian RMN (R), Senior Fellow/Centre Head, Centre for Maritime Security and Diplomacy, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), Malaysia
“Fighting Piracy and Terrorism”
7
9.50-10.20 AM Coffee Break
10:20-12:00 AM SESSION 5: Legal dimensions in the South China Sea
Moderator: Prof. Robert Beckman, Head of Ocean Law and Policy
Programme, Centre for International Law (CIL), the National University of
Singapore (NUS)
The session examines legal dimension in the South China Sea and newly arisen legal issues, which are critical to the international order in the South China Sea. Speakers are addressing some of the most critical aspects of legal dimension of the South China Sea issues, which including, but not limited to, marine environment protection, prevention of incidents at sea, the use of force or threat to use force, , as well as revisiting the South China Sea arbitral award.
Speakers:
Prof. Geneviève Bastid Burdeau, Professor of International Law, Sorbonne Law School (Univ. of Paris I); Member of the Institute of International Law, France
“The Use of Force and Threat to Use Force in International Law and Practices in the South China Sea”
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Bien Dong Institute for Maritime Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV)
“International Law and Prevention of Incidents at Sea”
Dr. Kim Wonhee, Senior Researcher, Korea Maritime Institute, Korea
“International Law and Protection of Marine Environment in the South China Sea”
Prof. Jay Batongbacal, Director, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, University of the Philippines, Philippines
“Revisiting the South China Sea Arbitration”
12.00-1.00 PM Luncheon
1.00-2.40 PM SESSION 6: Sustainable Development and Cooperation Initiatives
Moderator: Prof. Geneviève Bastid Burdeau, Professor of International Law, Sorbonne Law School (Univ. of Paris I); Member of the Institute of International Law, France
This session focuses on the political economy of the South China Sea problem. As disputes and tensions drag on, the state of commercial development, economic cooperation, and their effects on the management and resolution of existing disputes are among the key concerns. Also, the issue of sustainable development both at the national and regional levels is of great interest to the public. Therefore, panelists
8
are proposed to discuss key economic initiatives and activities, which have potential of exerting substantial impacts on the state of affairs in the South China Sea region and beyond.
Speakers:
Ms. Chen Chenchen, Deputy Director of the Macro Research Department at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China
“China’s new South China Sea approach following Belt and Road Initiative”
Ms. Joanna Mossop, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
“Sustainable fisheries in the South China Sea”
Prof. David M. Ong, Research Professor of International & Environmental Law, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University, UK
“Prospects for Joint Development in the South China Sea: Implications of Recent International Decisions & Regional State Practice”
Commander Nguyen Khac Vuot, Director, International Cooperation Department, Vietnam Coast Guard
“Cooperate for Safe and Security at Sea”
2.40-3.00 PM Coffee Break
3:00-4:45 PM SESSION 7: Panel Discussion: Code of Conduct (COC): Substance and
Process
Moderator: Prof. Leszek Buszynski, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre,
Australia
This special session is dedicated to the discussion on progress and obstacles to the formation of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. As China and ASEAN finalized the framework for the COC, the next phrase of substantive discussions on the set of rules and regulations as well as mechanisms for monitoring, investigation, and enforcement would be very important.
Presentation, by Prof. Robert Beckman, Head of Ocean Law and Policy Programme, Centre for International Law (CIL), the National University of Singapore (NUS)
“Can the COC establish a Framework for a Cooperative Mechanism?”
Panelists:
Prof. Renping Zhang, Director, Center for International Maritime Convention Studies, Dalian Maritime University, China
9
Prof. Jay Batongbacal, Director, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, University of the Philippines
Captain Martin A. Sebastian RMN (R), Senior Fellow/Centre Head, Centre for Maritime Security and Diplomacy, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), Malaysia
Ms. Shafiah F. Muhibat, Senior Fellow, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Indonesia; Maritime Security Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore
Dr. Tran Truong Thuy, Senior Fellow, Foundation for East Sea Studies (FESS), Viet Nam
4.45-5.00 PM
Closing Remarks
7.00-9.00 PM Farewell Dinner (for Speakers and Role Players)
Note: Please be at the Lobby of Hotel Nikko Saigon at 6:15 PM
10
MEETING GUIDELINES
Venue: Hotel Nikko Sai Gon, 235 Nguyen Van Cu Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
11
12
Conference Contact Person
Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Huong - Mobile: +84.942.326.968
Email: [email protected]
Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh - Mobile: +84.1699.906.891
Email: [email protected]
Registration and identification badges
A registration counter will be set up for registration at the time of the
Conference.
Badges will be issued upon completion of registration by participants and
verification by the Conference staffs at the registration counter.
Time and venue for registration
November 27th, 2017: 08.00 – 08.30 AM (Hotel Nikko Sai Gon)
Dress code
Formal business attire is required for the Opening Session.
For other sessions, business casual is appropriate.
Internet
Wireless Internet is available at the Conference Hall.
Electricity
The electric current is 220 Volt AC throughout the country. The electric plugs and
sockets are designed for two round pin plugs. It is recommended that
participants bring their own adaptors to comply with the electric current and
plugs.
Rules of Proceedings
The conference will be on record. Local and international press will be
participating in the Opening Session, Session 1, Session 7 and Closing Session.
Each speaker has 12 minutes to present his/her paper.
Other participants have 3 minutes each to make comments, raise questions
during Q&A sections.
Other decisions will be made by the moderator.
13
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS
- in alphabetical order of last names -
1 Dr. Aries A. Arugay Associate Professor, Department of
Political Science, University of the
Philippines in Diliman, Philippines
2 Mr. Khalil Ahmed Advocate, Democratic Lawyers
Association of Pakistan
3 Prof. Leszek Buszynski Visiting Fellow, Strategic & Defence
Studies Centre, Australia
4 Prof. Robert Beckman Head, Ocean Law and Policy Programme, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore
5 Prof. Jay Batongbacal Director, Institute for Maritime
Affairs and Law of the Sea, University
of the Philippines, Philippines
6 Prof. Geneviève Bastid
Burdeau
Professor of International Law,
Sorbonne Law School (Univ. of Paris
I); Member of the Institute of
International Law, France
7 Mr. Ishwori Prasad
Bhattarai
General Secretary, The Progressive
and Professional Lawyers’
Association, Nepal
8 Mr. Ernesto Braam Regional Strategic Advisor for
Southeast Asia, Embassy of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in
Singapore
9 Ms. Elena Bernini Founder of Oxford Omnia
10 Mr. Arjen van den Berg Deputy Director, Asia and Oceania
Division, Foreign Ministry of
Netherlands
14
11 Ms. Siti Es Husnina Bujang Researcher, Prime Minister's Office -
Brunei
12 Mr. Xolani Maxwell
Boqwana
Lawyer & Director, National
Association of Democratic Lawyers
of South Africa
13 Ms. Lisa Marie J. Clemente Government Employee, Department
of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD), Philippines
14 Mr. Jean-Marie Crouzatier Researcher, Université Toulouse 1
capitole, France
15 Prof. Brahma Chellaney Professor of Strategic Studies, Centre
for Policy Research, India
16 Ms. Chen Chenchen Deputy Director, Macro Research
Department, Chongyang Institute for
Financial Studies, Renmin University
of China
17 Md. Hasan Tarique
Chowdhury
Lawyer, Democratic Lawyers
Association of Bangladesh
18 Ms. Judy Chen Researcher, Institute of Chinese
Communist Studies, Chinese Taipei
19 Ms. Maria Kristina
Calingasan Conti
Lawyer, National Union of Peoples'
Lawyers, Philippines
20 Mr. Bang Gum Chan Secretary General, Korean
Democratic Lawyers Association,
North Korea
21 Ms. Lisa Chang Researcher, Institute of Chinese
Communist Studies, Chinese Taipei
22 Mr. Neri Javier Colmenares Vice President, Confederation of
Lawyers in the Asia-Pacific,
Chairman of National Union of
Peoples' Lawyers, Philippines
15
23 Mr. Milan Raj Dharel Secretary, Confederation of Lawyers
in the Asia-Pacific, Nepal
24 Mr. Bokodjin Anoumo Dodji Sociologue, Coordinateur,
L'association Nouvelles Alternatives
pour le Développement Durable en
Afrique (NADDAF), Togo
25 Ms. Madonna Gay Lumanta
Escio
Lawyer, National Union of Peoples'
Lawyers , Philippines
26 Ms. Theresa Fallon Member of the Council for Security
Cooperation in the Asia Pacific
(CSCAP-EU)
27 Mr. Kelvin Jay G. Foja Liaison Officer, Foja Law Office,
Philippines
28 Ms. Alnie G. Foja Lawyer, Foja Law Office, Philippines
29 H.E. Judge Vladimir
Vladimirovich Golitsyn
President, International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) (2014-
2017)
30 Dr. Euan Graham Director, International Security
Program, the Lowy Institute,
Australia
31 Ms. Svetlana Glinkina Head, Scientific Division:
International Economic and Political
research, Institute of Economics,
Russian Academy of Sciences
32 Mr. Abrar Hassan Advocate, Democratic Lawyers
Association of Pakistan
33 Mr. Lennox S. Hinds Lawyer, International Association of
Democratic Lawyers, USA
34 Mr. Jan Fermon Genneral Secretay of International
Association of Democratic Lawyers,
Belgium
16
35 Mr. Dung Huynh Researcher, RAND Corporation, USA
36 Mr. Michael Hutchison Head of Geopolitical Risk, Asia-
Pacific, HSBC, Australia
37 Mr. Takashi Hosoda Researcher, Charles University in
Prague
38 Mr. James Huang Researcher, Institute of Chinese
Communist Studies, Chinese Taipei
39 Ms. Kim Ki Hyeon First Secretary, Embassy of Korea in
Singapore
40 Mr. Blake Herzinger Senior Consultant, Booz Allen
Hamilton/US Navy Pacific Fleet,
Singapore
41 Mr. Hajime Inoue Attorney at law, JALISA,
Confederation of Lawyers in the
Asia-Pacific, Japan
42 Mr. Artem Iakovlev Assistant researcher, Moscow School
of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow
State University/Institute of
Economy, Russian Academy of
Science, Russia
43 Mr. O ryong Il Presidium member, Korean
Democratic Lawyers Association,
North Korea
44 Mr. Edcel John Ancheta
Ibarra
Researcher, Foreign Service Institute,
Department of Foreign Affairs,
Philippines
45 Prof. You Ji Head, Department of Government
and Public Administration,
University of Macau, China
46 Mr. Vijender Jain Former Chief Justice, High Court of
Punjab & Haryana, Indian
Association of Democratic Lawyers,
India
17
47 Mr. Dionesio T Alave, Jr. Lawyer, National Union of People’s
Lawyers, Philippines
48 Dr. Liu Fu-Kuo Senior Fellow, Institute of
International Relations, Taiwan
Chengchi University
49 Mr. Michael Kovrig Senior Adviser, International Crisis
Group, Hungary
50 Ms. Maria Lampoudi Political Attaché, European Union
Mission in Philippines
51 Ms. Carol Li Researcher, Institute of Chinese
Communist Studies, Chinese Taipei
52 Ms. Linda Li Researcher, Institute of Chinese
Communist Studies, Chinese Taipei
53 Mr. Lyle J. Morris Senior Policy Analyst, RAND
Corporation, United States
54 Mr. Fabio Marcelli Researcher, National Research
Council (CNR), Italy
55 Ms. Shafiah F. Muhibat Senior Fellow, Centre for Strategic
and International Studies, Indonesia;
Maritime Security Programme, S.
Rajaratnam School of International
Studies, Singapore
56 Ms. Joanna Mossop Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law,
Victoria University of Wellington,
New Zealand
57 Mr. Bentoumi Mohammed Lawyer, Algerian Bar, Algeria
58 Mr. Cameron Mitchell Global Head of Geopolitical Risk,
HSBC, UK
59 Ms. Jeanne Ellen Mirer President, International Association
of Democratic Lawyers, USA
18
60 Mr. Soh Jun Ming Research Analyst, Defense Ministry,
Singapore
61 Ms. Anagha Neelakantan Program Director, International
Crisis Group, Belgium
62 Prof. David M. Ong Research Professor of International
& Environmental Law, Nottingham
Law School, Nottingham Trent
University, UK
63 Mr. Edre Urbano Olalia President, National Union of Peoples'
Lawyers, Secretary of Confederation
of Lawyers in the Asia-Pacific,
Philippines
64 Ms. Perlin Peh Research Analyst, Defense Ministry,
Singapore
65 Ms. Rea Sumaria Penol National Union of Peoples' Lawyers,
Philippines
66 Mr. Wang Qu Researcher, Faculty of Social
Sciences, University of Macau, China
67 Prof. Zhang Renping Director, Center for International
Maritime Convention Studies, Dalian
Maritime University, China
68 Ms. Clarissa E. Rutor-Garcio Division Chief, National Security
Council of the Philippines
69 Mr. David Renante Researcher/Analyst, National
Security Council, Philippines
70 Mr. Zamora Bolanos Luis
Roberto
Lawyer, International Association of
Democratic Lawyers, Costa Rica
71 Mr. Jun Sasamoto General Secretary, Confederation of
Lawyers in the Asia-Pacific, Japan
72 Ms. Sandra Jill Soriano
Santos
Lawyer, National Union of People’s
Lawyers, Philippines
19
73 Ms. Micol Savia Permanent Representative, UN
Human Rights Council in Geneva,
Coordinator, UN Representation
74 Mr. Jonathan Stromseth Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
75 Mr. Jitendra Sharma President, Confederation of Lawyers
in the Asia-Pacific, India
76 Ms. Sharon Awang Sitai Research Officer, Prime Minister's
Office - Brunei
77 Dr. Kuo-Shyang, Sun Associate Professor, Department of
International Affairs and Business,
Nanhua University, Chinese Taipei
78 Captain Martin A. Sebastian Senior Fellow/Centre Head, Centre
for Maritime Security and Diplomacy,
Maritime Institute of Malaysia
79 Ms. Mary Grace S.Trinidad Teacher/ Human Rights Defender,
Philippines
80 Mr. Ghanendra Bahadur
Shrestha
Bureau member of International
Association of Democratic Lawyers,
Nepal
81 Prof. Carlyle A. Thayer Emeritus Professor , University of
New South Wales, Australian Defense
Force Academy, Australia
82 Mr. Frank Lloyd B. Tiongson Lawyer, Foja Law Office, Philippines
83 Mr. Hideshi Tokuchi Senior Fellow, National Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies, Japan
84 Mr. Yoshio Uchiyama Researcher, Foreign Policy Center,
Japan
85 Mr. Lam Vu Researcher, University of New South
Wales, Canberra, Australia
86 Ms. Sarah Mariquit Villamor Lawyer, National Union of People’s
Lawyers, Philippines
20
87 Prof. Shi Yinhong Director, Center on American
Studies, Renmin University, China
88 Dr. Li Yang Researcher, Law School, Sun Yat-sen
University, China
89 Mr. Victor Yeo Senior Research Analyst, Defense
Ministry, Singapore
90 Ms. Colin Willett Former Deputy Assistant Secretary,
State Department, United States
91 Mr. Roland Weyl Lawyer, International Association of
Democratic Lawyers, France
92 Dr. Kim Wonhee
Senior Researcher, Korea Maritime
Institute, Korea
LOCAL PARTICIPANTS
- in alphabetical order of first names -
93 Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh Deputy Head of Division, Department
of International Cooperation,
PetroVietnam
94 Mr. Pham Xuan Anh Senior Officer, Department of
Petroleum Exploration,
PetroVietnam
95 Mr. Dao Ngoc Anh Vice President, PetroVietnam
Drilling and Well Services
Corporation, PetroVietnam
96 Mr. Nguyen Duy Bac Vice Chairman, People’s Committee,
Khanh Hoa Province
97 Mr. Vu Thanh Ca Director General, Department of
International Cooperation, General
Department of the Sea and Offshore
Islands, Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment
21
98 Mr. Dao Huy Du Deputy Director General,
Department of Internal Affairs,
Government Office
99 Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc Deputy Head of Consular Division,
Ha Noi’s Department of External
Affairs
100 Mr. Hoang Dung Deputy Head of Division, Department
of Petroleum Exploration,
PetroVietnam
101 Col. Truong Quoc Giao Head of National Security Research
Board, Institute for Science and
Strategies, Ministry of Public Security
102 Ms. Tran Vo Huong Giang Deputy Director, Department of
International Cooperation,
PetroVietnam
103 Ms. Le Thi Thu Hanh Deputy Director, Department of
External Relations, Da Nang Province
104 Mr. Dang Huy Hau Standing Vice Chairman, People’s
Committee, Quang Ninh Province
105 Mr. Tran Nghia Hoa Deputy Director, Ha Noi Department
of External Affairs
106 Senior Lt. Col. Nguyen Trung Huong Official, Ministry of National Defence
107 Mr. Tran Van Khoanh Director, Department of Information
and Communications, Tra Vinh
Province
108 Mr. Nguyen Huu Lap Vice Chairman, People’s Committee,
Ben Tre Province
109 Ms. Mai Thi Nhat Lan Deputy Director of Legal
Department, PetroVietnam
110 Mr. Ngo Hoang Dai Long Researcher, University of Social
Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi
Minh City
111 Maj. Gen. Dao Kim Long Director General, Department of
National Defense and Security,
22
Ministry of Planning and Investment
112 Mr. Nguyen Long Director, Legal Department,
PetroVietnam
113 Mr. Dinh Tran Loi Director General, Department of
Defense and Security, Ministry of
Finance
114 Mr. Tran Xuan Loi Senior Official, Ministry of Public
Security
115 Ms. Ho Tu Mai Deputy Director of Department of
International Cooperation,
PetroVietnam
116 Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh Rector, University of Social Sciences
and Humanities, Vietnam National
University
117 Col. Nguyen Quang Nam Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff,
Quang Nam Province's Border
Guards
118 Mr. Hoang Nguyen Senior Official, Department of
Defense and Security, Ministry of
Finance
119 Mr. Truong Trong Nghia Lawyer, National Council of Lawyers
120 Mr. Luu Van Phi Director, Department of External
Relations, Tien Giang Province
121 Dr. Ngo Huu Phuoc Vice Dean, International Law Faculty,
Head of Public International Law
Division, Ho Chi Minh City University
of Law
122 Col. Nguyen Hoai Phuong Deputy Chief of Staff, Border Guard
High Command, Ministry of National
Defence
123 Dr. Le Minh Phuong Researcher, Ho Chi Minh University
of Technology
124 Mr. Ha Tuan Phong Senior Official, Viet Nam Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
23
125 Mr. Nguyen Duc Quang Deputy Director, Department of
External Relations, Quang Tri
Province
126 Mr. Vuong Minh Quang Director of Petroleum Contract
Management Department,
PetroVietnam
127 Maj. Gen. Nguyen Hong Quan Former Deputy Director, Institute for
Defense Strategy, Ministry of
National Defence
128 Ms. Huynh Thi Anh Suong Director, Department of External
Affairs, Quang Ngai Province
129 Mr. Le Van Su Vice Chairman, People’s Committee,
Ca Mau Province
130 Col. Dinh Van Sau Political Commissar, Commander
Committee, Binh Thuan’s Border
Guard
131 Mr. Nguyen Minh Sang Official, Institute for Public Security
Strategies and Studies, Ministry of
Public Security
132 Col. Dinh Van Sau Political Commissar, Commander
Committee, Binh Thuan’s Border
Guard
133 Mr. Nguyen Van Tam Deputy Director, Vietnam Naval
Academy
134 Mr. Nguyen Tan Director, Department of External
Relations, Binh Dinh Province
135 Mr. Vu Chi Thanh Deputy Head of Europe – America
Division, Institute for Defense
International Relations, Ministry of
National Defence
136 Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang Deputy Director General, Institute of
Comparative Law, Ha Noi University
of Law
137 Mr. Tran Viet Thang Deputy Head of Petroleum Contract
Management Department,
24
PetroVietnam
138 Mr. Nguyen Le Tuan Director General, Institute for Seas
and Islands Studies, Vietnam
Administration of Seas and Islands,
Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment
139 Mr. Nguyen Duc Thien Official, Viet Nam Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
140 Mr. Quang Trong Thao Deputy Director, Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development,
Kien Giang Province
141 Ms. Do Phuong Thao Deputy Director, Department of
International Information and
Cooperation, Central Propaganda
and Training Commission
142 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Nam Tien Vice Dean, Faculty of International
Relations, University of Social
Sciences and Humanities - Ho Chi
Minh City
143 Mr. Nguyen Le Tuan Director General, Institute for Seas
and Islands Studies, Vietnam
Administration of Seas and Islands,
Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment
144 Mr. Le Thanh Tung Desk Officer, General Department,
Central Commission for External
Relations, Communist Party of
Vietnam's Central Committee
145 Col. Le Hong Tien Official, National Defense and
Security Department, Ministry of
Planning and Investment
146 Mr. Tong Quang Thin Vice Chairman, People’s Committee,
Ninh Binh Province
147 Mr. Tran Van Thuy Deputy Director General, National
Border Committee, Viet Nam
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
25
148 Mr. Tran Khac Toan Director, Department of External
Affairs, Nam Ding Province
149 Mr. Duong Thanh Trung Chairman, People’s Committee, Bac
Lieu Province
150 Col. Hoang Van Uan Director General, Institute for Border
Defence Strategy, Border Defence
Academy
151 Mr. Hoang Viet Lecturer, Ho Chi Minh City University
of Law
152 Mr. Le Quang Vinh Deputy Director, Office of Central
Committee, Communist Party of
Vietnam
153 Mr. Truong Minh Huy Vu Director, Centre for International
Studies, University of Social Sciences
and Humanities - Ho Chi Minh City
154 Col. Nguyen Khac Vuot Director of International Relations
Department, Coast Guard Command,
Ministry of National Defence
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN VIET NAM
155 Ms. Christine Chasity Australia First Secretary, Embassy of Australia
156 Ms. Dinh Quynh Mai Australia Senior Political Officer, Embassy of
Australia
157 Ms. Anke Van Lancke Belgium Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of
Belgium
158 Mr. Ko Yu-chien Chinese
Taipei
Deputy Director, Taipei Economic
and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh
City
159 Mr. Vu Tu Dat Canada Political Officer, Embassy of Canada
160 Mr. Christian Brix Moller Denmark Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of
Denmark
26
161 Mr. Olivier Sigaud France Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of
France
162 Mr. Konrad Lax Germany First Secretary, Embassy of Germany
163 H.E. Mr. Ibnu Hadi Indonesia Ambassador, Embassy of Indonesia
164 Ms. Do Huyen Trang Indonesia Staff of Political and Educational
Affairs, Embassy of Indonesia
165 H.E. Mr. Parvathaneni
Harish
India Ambassador, Embassy of India
166 Ms. Mariko Hashizume Japan Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan
167 Amb. Thieng Boupha Laos Director General, Embassy of Laos
168 Ahmad Afifi Malaysia Counsellor, Embassy of Malaysia
169 H.E. Ms. Nienke Trooster Netherlands Ambassador, Embassy of
Netherlands
170 H. E. Mr. Noel Mejica
Servigon
Philippines Ambassador, Embassy of Philippines
171 H.E. Mr. Zaigham Uddin
Azam
Pakistan Ambassador, Embassy of Pakistan
172 Ms. Maria Mizonova Russia Senior Consul, Russian Consulate
General in Ho Chi Minh City
173 Mr. Dmitry Krivosheev Russia Consul, Russian Consulate General in
Ho Chi Minh City
174 Mr. Ng Kuan Khai Singapore First Secretary (Political &
Economic), Embassy of Singapore
27
175 H.E. Mr. Manopchai
Vongphakdi
Thailand Ambassador, Embassy of Thailand
176 Ms. Barbara Amono-Oceng UK Head of External Political Section,
Embassy of UK
177 Mr. Tran Duc UK External Political Officer, Embassy of
UK
VIET NAM LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATION
178 Dr. Nguyen Van Quyen President, Viet Nam Lawyers’
Association
179 Mr. Le Minh Tam Vice President, Viet Nam Lawyers’
Association
180 Mr. Duong Thanh Bac Vice President, Viet Nam Lawyers’
Association
181 Ms. Le Thi Kim Thanh Vice President, Viet Nam Lawyers’
Association
182 Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung Official, Viet Nam Lawyers’
Association
THE FOUNDATION FOR EAST SEA STUDIES
183 H.E. Le Cong Phung Vice Chairman, The Foundation for
East Sea Studies
184 Amb. Nguyen Duc Hung Founding Member, The Foundation
for East Sea Studies; Strategic Studies
Advisor, Diplomatic Academy of Viet
Nam
185 Dr. Tran Truong Thuy Executive Director, The Foundation
for East Sea Studies; Deputy Director
General, Bien Dong Institute for
Maritime Studies, Diplomatic
Academy of Viet Nam
28
186 Ms. Hoang Thi Lan The Foundation for East Sea Studies
DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIET NAM
187 Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Vu
Tung
President, Diplomatic Academy of
Viet Nam
188 Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan
Anh
Deputy Director General, Bien Dong
Institute for Maritime Studies
189 Dr. Le Dinh Tinh Deputy Director General, Bien Dong
Institute for Maritime Studies,
Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam
190 Dr. Ha Anh Tuan Assistant Director General, Bien
Dong Institute for Maritime Studies,
Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam
191 Dr. Do Thanh Hai Director, Center for Information and
Analysis, Bien Dong Institute for
Maritime Studies, Diplomatic
Academy of Viet Nam
192 Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Huong Deputy Director, Center for
International Cooperation, Bien Dong
Institute for Maritime Studies
193 Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong Research Fellow, Bien Dong Institute
for Maritime Studies
194 Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh Research Fellow, Bien Dong Institute
for Maritime Studies
195 Mr. Nguyen Hoang Minh Research Fellow, Bien Dong
Maritime Institute
196 Ms. To Dieu Lan Interpreter
197 Ms. Mai Ngan Ha Interpreter
29
198 Ms. Nguyen Thanh Lan Interpreter
Others
International & Local Press
30
BIOGRAPHY OF ROLE PLAYERS - in alphabetical order of the last names -
Assoc. Prof. NGUYEN THI LAN ANH Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh is Deputy Director
General of the Bien Dong Maritime Institute and Vice Dean
of the International Law Faculty of the Diplomatic
Academy of Vietnam. Dr. Nguyen received her Ph.D. in
International Law from University of Bristol, the United
Kingdom. She has research interests in ocean law and
policy, maritime security, and the South China Sea issues.
Her main duties in the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
include teaching for undergraduate students, postgraduate
students and mid-career officials; doing research;
attending national and track II international workshops on
international relations and international law. She was a
research fellow of the Center for International Law,
National University of Singapore and Japan Institute of
International Affairs.
Bien Dong Maritime
Institute, Diplomatic
Academy of Vietnam
Email:
Dr. ARIES A. ARUGAY
Aries A. Arugay is an associate professor of political science
at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He is also a
fellow of the Strategic Studies Program of its Center for
Integrative and Development Studies. He has conducted
research on comparative democratization, electoral
politics, civil-military relations, contentious politics,
security sector reform, and international relations in the
Asia-Pacific. He was previously a visiting fellow at the
Institute of Security and International Studies (Thailand),
Carter Center, Centro de Estudios Superiores
Universitarios-Universidad Mayor de San Simón (Bolivia),
Department of Government and International Relations-
University of Sydney, and the Jeju Peace Institute (South
Korea). He serves as Senior Editor of Asian Politics & Policy
and Associate Editor of the Philippine Political Science
Journal. In 2015, he was selected as a Young Southeast
Asian Fellow by the Southeast Asia Research Group
Department of Political
Science, University of the
Phillippines
Email:
31
(SEAREG).). Earlier this year, he was a Visiting Fellow at
the National Institute of Defense Studies of the Japan
Ministry of Defense. He obtained his PhD in Political
Science from Georgia State University in Atlanta and his
MA and BA (cum laude) in Political Science from the
University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Prof. ROBERT BECKMAN
Robert Beckman was the founding Director of the Centre
for International Law (CIL) at the National University of
Singapore (NUS), a university-level centre engaged in
research on issues of international law. He served as the
Director of CIL from September 2009 to June 2016, and he
continues to head CIL’s programme in Ocean Law and
Policy. Prof Beckman is an Associate Professor in the NUS
Faculty of Law, and has been with the Faculty since 1977.
Prof Beckman has a special interest in public international
law and in ocean law and policy. He lectures in Rhodes
Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, a summer diploma
programme held in Rhodes, Greece, and is a member of its
Governing Board. He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the
Maritime Security Programme at the Institute for Defence
and Strategic Studies of the S Rajaratnam School of
International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological
University (NTU).
His writings on the South China Sea include two edited
books, numerous book chapters and conference papers, as
well as the following journal articles:
Beckman, R C, “‘Deliberate Ambiguity’ and the
Demise of China’s Claim to Historic Rights in the
South China Sea”, Asia-Pacific Journal of Ocean Law
and Policy 1 (2016) 164-182
Beckman, R C and C Schofield, “Defining EEZ Claims
from Islands: A Potential South China Sea
Change”, International Journal of Marine and
Coastal Law, 29, no. 2 (2014): 193-243.
Beckman, R C, “The UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea and the Maritime Disputes in the South
China Sea”, American Journal of International Law,
Vol. 107:142 (2013): 142-163.
Centre for International
Law, National University of
Singapore
Email:
32
Prof. LESZEK BUSZYNSKI
Leszek Buszynski is a visiting fellow with the National
Security College at the Australian National University,
Canberra Australia. From 1994-2010 he was professor of
International Relations in the Graduate School of
International Relations at the International University of
Japan. Prior to this appointment he was a research fellow
with Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian
national University. He was also a lecturer with the
Department of Political Science at the National University
of Singapore over 1980-1987. He has published widely on
Asia Pacific security issues and is co editor of the Routledge
series on Asia Pacific Security. His most recent
publications are; Negotiating with North Korea: The Six
Party Talks and the Nuclear Issue, Routlege, 2013, The
South China Sea Maritime Dispute; Political, legal and
Regional Perspectives, Routledge 2014 [co edited with
Chris Roberts]
Strategic & Defence
Studies Centre, Australia
Email:
m
Prof. JAY BATONGBACAL
Jay L Batongbacal is a lawyer with degrees in Political
Science and Law from the University of the Philippines, as
well as advanced degrees of Master of Marine Management
and Doctor in the Science of Law, both from Dalhousie
University in Canada. Since 1997, he has done diverse work
and widely published on maritime affairs, including
community based fisheries management, coastal resource
management, marine environment protection, maritime
boundaries, high seas fishing, offshore energy, seafaring,
and shipping. He has carried out these research activities
under the auspices of the Philippine Center for Marine
Affairs between 1997-2003, as part of his own academic
interests while undertaking his doctoral studies in Canada
between 2003-2008, and as a member of the faculty of the
UP College of Law from 2008 to the present. He has also
served as legal/policy specialist on various foreign-assisted
development/management projects such as the Coastal
Resource Management Project, the Fisheries Resource
Management Project, and the Coral Triangle Initiative
Support Program.
Dr. Batongbacal has also conducted, upon request, many
briefings and submitted opinions to various government
Institute for Maritime
Affairs and Law of the Sea,
University of the
Philippines
Email:
33
offices, such as the Office of the President, the Department
of Foreign Affairs, Department of National Defense,
National Security Council, Cabinet Committee on Maritime
and Ocean Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives, the Committee on National
Defense of the Philippine Senate, among others. He
remains actively involved with both government and non-
government organization on many different issues
involving a maritime component, including the mining and
petroleum industries. His commentaries and insights on
Philippine maritime affairs have often appeared in
traditional and online press in the Philippines and abroad
Dr. Batongbacal was legal advisor to the Philippine
delegation that successfully pursued the Philippines’ claim
to a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the
Benham Rise Region before the Commission on the Limits
of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He
recently assisted the Philippines in making an application
to the International Maritime Organization for the
designation of a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area in the Sulu
Sea. He is also on his second term as one ofthe UNESCO List
of Experts on Marine Scientific Research for purposes of
Special Arbitration under UNCLOS Annex VIII. Presently, he
serves as an Associate Professor at the University of the
Philippines College of Law, and concurrently Director of
the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea of the
U.P. Law Center.
Prof. GENEVIÈVE BASTID BURDEAU
Geneviève Bastid Burdeau, Professor Emeritus of
International Law at the Sorbonne Maw School (University
Paris I), Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration,
former Secretary General of the Hague Academy of
International Law (1999-2005), member of the Institut de
Droit International, member of the Curatorium of the
Hague Academy. Vice president of the French Society of
International Law, member of the board of editors of the
Annuaire Français de Droit International, Specialist of
public international law, international economic law
(trade, investments, monetary relations), acted as counsel
for several states and international organizations.
Numerous publications in the field of international law.
Sorbonne Law School
(University Paris I)
34
Email:
Genevieve.Burdeau@univ-
paris1.fr
Prof. BRAHMA CHELLANEY
Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and author. He is
presently a professor of strategic studies at the
independent Center for Policy Research in New Delhi; a
Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow of the Robert Bosch
Academy in Berlin; a trustee of the National Book
Trust; and an affiliate with the International Centre for the
Study of Radicalization at King’s College London. He has
served as a member of the Policy Advisory Group headed
by the foreign minister of India.
As a specialist on international strategic issues, he held
appointments at Harvard University, the Brookings
Institution, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and the
Australian National University.
His scholarly essays have been published in numerous
journals, including International Security,
Orbis, Survival, Terrorism, Washington Quarterly, and
Nature. He is the author of nine books, including an
international bestseller, Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of
China, India, and Japan (New York: Harper Paperbacks,
2010).
His latest books focus on the geopolitics of natural
resources, especially water: the recently released Water,
Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water
Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield); and Water: Asia’s New
Battleground (Georgetown University Press), the winner of
the 2012 Bernard Schwartz Award.
In addition to being a strategic thinker and author, he is a
columnist and commentator, including for Project
Syndicate. His opinion articles appear in the Nikkie Asian
Review, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Le Monde,
The Guardian, The Times of India, Mint, Japan Times, The
Globe and Mail, La Vanguardia, South China Morning Post,
and other important newspapers. And he has often
appeared on CNN and BBC, among others.
Centre for Policy Research,
India
Email:
35
Ms. CHEN CHENCHEN
Ms. Chen Chenchen is Deputy Director and Research fellow
of Department of Macro Research, Chongyang Institute for
Financial Studies at Renmin University of China (RDCY), a
leading think tank in China. She has been focusing on
studies of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), global governance
and Sino-US relations.
Prior to joining the RDCY, Chen served as editorial writer
and director of Opinion-Editorial Department at the Global
Times English Edition, a national newspaper based in
Beijing, and won China News Awards in 2014. She joined
the RDCY after accomplishing Oxford University’s annual
fellowship program in 2015. Ms Chen graduated from
Nanjing University, and Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing
University Center for Chinese and American Studies.
Chongyang Institute for
Financial Studies, Renmin
University, China
Email:
Ms. THERESA FALLON
Theresa Fallon is a Brussels-based analyst, writer and
commentator on global energy and geopolitics with over
20 years' experience. A member of the Council for Security
Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP-EU), in 2016 she
established the Centre for Russia, Europe, Asia Studies
(CREAS). Her current research focus is on EU–Asia
relations, Sino-Russian relations, maritime security, global
governance and China’s Belt & Road Initiative. She is a
frequent panelist at conferences and events around the
world and has testified on a number of occasions to the
European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and
Subcommittee on Security and Defense. Previously she was
a Senior Associate with the European Institute for Asian
Studies (EIAS) in Brussels and a member of the Strategic
Advisors Group for the NATO Supreme Allied Commander
Europe (SACEUR). From 2003 to 2007 she worked in
Beijing as a researcher and consultant. From 1998 to 2003
Council for Security
Cooperation in the Asia
Pacific (CSCAP-EU)
Email:
theresa.fallon@creasbrusse
ls.org
36
she was the Moscow representative of PlanEcon, a research
and consulting firm, and taught in the first MBA program
established in Russia at the American Institute of
International Business in Moscow. She was educated at the
University of Chicago, Loyola University and the London
School of Economics and Political Science.
Her articles have appeared in American Foreign Policy
Interests, The Asan Forum, Asia Maritime Transparency
Initiative of CSIS, China Brief, The Diplomat, ISN Security
Watch, PlanEcon Energy Report, Royal United Services
Institute (RUSI) Newsbrief and other academic
publications. She has been featured on international media
including BBC, CCTV, CNBC, Channel News Asia, CNN,
Radio France International, The Guardian, The Japan
Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
H.E. Judge VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH
GOLITSYN
Judge Golitsyn is a national of the Russian Federation. He
has been active in the field of International Law for almost
four decades. At the Government level, as Head of the
Division of Public International Law in the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs of the former USSR and as head or member
of delegations at various negotiations on fishery,
navigation and maritime boundary matters, as well as the
Arctic and Antarctica.
At the United Nations, where he worked for 25 years, in the
Office of the Legal Counsel and as Director of the Division
for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, he was involved in
a wide range of legal, in particular environmental and
maritime matters, as well as such issues as the
establishment and implementation of the oil-for-food
programme for Iraq, negotiation of arrangements related
to the Lockerbie case, assistance in the demarcation of
boundary between Iraq and Kuwait, assistance in the
implementation of the Algiers Agreement between Eritrea
and Ethiopia concerning boundary issues, assistance in
facilitation by the Secretary-General of negotiations
between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea on maritime
boundary, etc.
Judge Golitsyn was a Member of the International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea from 2008 to 2017 and, from 2011 to
International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)
Email:
37
2014, President of the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the
Tribunal. Judge Golitsyn served as President of the
Tribunal from October 2014 to September 2017.
Judge Golitsyn is currently Vice-President of the Russian
Association of Maritime Law, Professor of international law
at the Moscow State University. He also teaches at the
Rhodes Summer Academy of Oceans Law and Policy.
Dr. EUAN GRAHAM
Dr Euan Graham is Director, International Security
Program at the Lowy Institute. Euan has been a close
observer of East Asian security affairs for more than
twenty years, in academia, the private sector, and for the
British Government. Euan joined the Institute from the S.
Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore
where he was a Senior Fellow specialising in maritime
issues. Prior to this he was a research analyst in the UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and served as Chargé
d’Affaires at the British Embassy in Pyongyang.
Euan’s research interests include Australian defence policy,
maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas,
nuclear proliferation, the US rebalance to Asia and defence
diplomacy. His book Japan’s Sea Lane Security 1940-2004: A
Matter of Life and Death? (Routledge) was the first
comprehensive English-language analysis on this subject.
Euan obtained his PhD from the Australian National
University in 2003. He remains an Associate Fellow at the
UK Royal United Services Institute.
International Security
Program, the Lowy Institute
Email:
38
Dr. Do Thanh Hai
Do Thanh Hai is a Senior Fellow at the Bien Dong Institute
for Maritime Studies of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
(DAV). His previous positions include vacation scholar at
the University of New South Wales at the Australian
Defence Force Academy in Canberra and Deputy Director
of the Centre for Political and Security Studies of the DAV's
Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies in
Hanoi. He obtained a doctorate from the Australian
National University and a Master of Art in Global Studies
from Erasmus Mundus Global Studies Program jointly
hosted by University of Vienna (Austria) and University of
Wroclaw (Poland). He is the author of the book
titled Vietnam and the South China Sea: Politics, Security
and Legality and published by Routledge in 2017.
Bien Dong Institute for
Maritime Studies, Diplomatic
Academy of Viet Nam
Email:
Prof. YOU JI
You Ji is professor of international relations and head of
Department of Government, University of Macau. He is
author of four books, including China’s Military
Transformation and The Armed Forces of China, and
numerous articles. Among them are “Xi Jinping and PLA
Centrality in Beijing’s South China Sea Dispute
Management”, China: An International Journal, Vol. 15, No.
2, 2017; “Sino-US “Cat-and-Mouse” Game Concerning
Freedom of Navigation and Overflight”, Journal of Strategic
Studies, Vol. 39, No. 5-6, 2016; “China’s Indo-Pacific
Strategy”, Asian Policy, No. 22, July 2016 ; “China’s National
Security Council: Evolution, Rationality and Operations”,
Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 25, No. 96, 2016;
“Managing conflicts in the Korean Peninsula: a Challenge to
China’s National Security”, The Bulletin on Korea Studies,
Vol. 30, 2017; “Managing the South China Sea Dilemma:
China’s Strategy and Policy”, in Lowell Ditmmer and Ngeow
Chow Bing (eds.), Southeast Asia and China: a Test in
Mutual Socialization, World Scientific, 2017. You Ji is on the
editorial board of eight academic journals including The
China Journal, Issue and Studies, and Journal of
Contemporary China.
Department of
Government and Public
Administration, University
of Macau, China
Email:
39
Dr. FU-KUO LIU
Fu-Kuo Liu is Research Fellow at the Institute of
International Relations (IIR), National Chengchi University,
Taiwan and Professor at the International Doctorate
Program in Asia Pacific Studies (IDAS), College of Social
Science, National Chengchi University. He is also the
Executive Director of the Taiwan Center for Security
Studies. He is the chief editor of Strategic & Security
Analyses (Monthly published in Chinese) and a bimonthly
Strategic Vision for Taiwan Security at IIR. He is also the
CEO of the Association for Emerging Market Studies in
Taiwan.
Dr. Liu was Chairman, Research Division of American and
European Studies, IIR; Chairman of the Research and
Planning Committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Taiwan and consultative adviser of the Mainland Affairs
Council, Taiwan. He was visiting fellow at the Department
of International Business, Economics, and Politics, Aoyama
Gakuin University, Tokyo (2000); research associate, Asian
Studies Program, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown
University (2000-2001); and visiting fellow, Center for
Northeast Asian Policy Studies (CNAPS), the Brookings
Institution (2006-2007); visiting fellow at the National
Institute for the South China Sea Studies, China (2012); and
visiting fellow at Department of Government and Public
Administration, University of Macau(2014).
His research focuses on Asia Pacific security, Asian
regionalism, national security and the South China Sea,
peace process across the Taiwan Strait, US strategy in Asia,
Asian maritime security, and Taiwan foreign and security
policy. He received a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of
Hull, the United Kingdom.
Institute of International
Relations, Taiwan Chengchi
University
Email:
40
Mr. LYLE J. MORRIS
Lyle J. Morris is a senior policy analyst at the RAND
Corporation, where he focuses on security developments in
East and Southeast Asia. He has over ten years of
experience researching and leading projects on Asia-Pacific
security issues and has published recently on the rise of
coast guards in East and Southeast Asia, maritime security
in the Asia-Pacific, and Chinese military modernization. His
articles have appeared in Naval War College Review, Asia
Policy, The Diplomat, The National Interest, The China
Brief, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Asia Maritime
Transparency Initiative (AMTI), Asia Pacific Bulletin, and
U.S. News and World Report, among others. Prior to joining
RAND, Morris was the 2010-11 Next Generation Fellow at
the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and a
research intern with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Morris received his master's degree in international affairs
from the Columbia University School of International and
Public Affairs (SIPA) and certificate in East Asian Studies
from Columbia's Weatherhead East Asian Institute. He
received his bachelor's degree in international business
from Western Washington University.
RAND Corporation, United
States
Email:
Ms. SHAFIAH F. MUHIBAT
Dr. Shafiah Muhibat is a Senior Fellow at the Maritime
Security Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies (RSIS) Singapore. She is also affiliated with the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS),
Indonesia as a Senior Researcher. She has done and taken
part in extensive research projects on politics and regional
security in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific since 2000.
She has special interest in issues of regional security in
East Asia, maritime security, Indonesia’s foreign policy, and
regional cooperation. In addition to her interest in security
issues, in the recent years she has also looked into issues
related to development cooperation. She was the Chief
Editor of The Indonesian Quarterly, a quarterly academic
journal published by CSIS, from 2013 to 2016. She was also
a lecturer at two private universities in Jakarta from 2005
to 2009. She obtained a Masters degree from the London
School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a PhD
Maritime Security
Programme, RSIS,
Singapore
Email:
41
in Political Science from the University of Hamburg.
Prof. PHAM QUANG MINH
Pham Quang Minh is Professor of history and politics at the
University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH),
Vietnam National University-Hanoi. After receiving his
Ph.D. in Southeast Asian studies from Humboldt University
in Berlin, Germany in 2002, he became Deputy Dean, and
then Dean of the Faculty of International Studies, and since
2012 he was promoted to Vice Rector for research affairs
of USSH, VNU-Hanoi, and Rector of USSH since January
2016. His main teaching and research interests, among the
other things, are world politics, international relations of
Asia-Pacific, and Vietnam’s foreign policy. His most recent
publications appeared in Journal International Relations of
the Asia-Pacific (Oxford University Press), Journal of
Vietnamese Studies (The University of California Press),
Asia Europe Journal, Asia-Pacific Review, and East Asia
Forum.
University of Social Sciences
and Humanities, Vietnam
National University
Email:
Ms. JOANNA MOSSOP
Joanna Mossop is a senior lecturer in law at Victoria
University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her research
interests in the law of the sea include maritime security,
high seas governance and the continental shelf. She is on
the editorial board of several journals including the Asia
Pacific Journal of Oceans Law and Policy, the New Zealand
Yearbook of International Law and the New Zealand
Journal of Public and International Law. She recently
published The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical
Miles: Rights and Responsibilities with Oxford University
Press. Other recent publications have addressed the
protection of marine biodiversity beyond national
jurisdiction and the legal framework for marine genetic
resources, and the South China Sea arbitration.
Faculty of Law, Victoria
University of Wellington
Email:
42
Prof. DAVID M. ONG
David M. Ong is Research Professor of International and
Environmental Law at the Nottingham Law School,
Nottingham Trent University, UK and a Visiting Fellow at
the IMLI, based in Valletta, Malta and established by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN Agency.
His main research interests are in the International Law of
the Sea, particularly on offshore joint development,
published in the American Journal of International
Law (1999) International Journal of Marine & Coastal
Law (1999) and Netherlands Yearbook of International
Law, 2000 (2001); and International Environmental Law,
published in European Journal of International
Law (2001), Irish Yearbook of International Law,
2006 (2008),Yearbook of International Environmental
Law, 2006 (2008), Nordic Journal of International
Law (2010 & 2016), Netherlands International Law
Review (2011), and most recently in theInternational
Journal of Law in Context (2015) & International Journal of
Minority & Group Rights (2015), as well as many edited
volumes of essays, three of which he has co-edited. Recent
and forthcoming publications on Law of the Sea issues are
as follows: ‘Delimitation of the continental shelf beyond
200nm and prospects for revenue sharing between states
and the international community’, in Law of the Sea:
UNCLOS as a Living Treaty, edited by Jill Barrett and
Richard Barnes, London: British Institute of International &
Comparative Law, (2016) 81-118; and ‘International Law
of the Sea’, in Conceptual and Contextual Perspectives on
the Law of Treaties, edited by Dino Kritsiotis & Michael
Bowman (eds), c.16K words, final, copy-edited draft sent
for publication by Cambridge University Press
(forthcoming, 2018).
Nottingham Law School,
Nottingham Trent
University
Email:
43
Prof. RENPING ZHANG
Professor Renping Zhang is the Director of the Centre for
International Maritime Convention Studies at Dalian
Maritime University of China. Professor Zhang has been
engaged in maritime education and study of maritime
conventions over 30 years, his main research and study
areas include maritime communication, maritime safety,
maritime security, marine environment protection.
Professor Renping Zhang has published several books on
maritime conventions and their implementations, he has
also published some papers on the maritime safety and
security related areas.
Professor Renping Zhang used to work in the Chinese
Embassy in London, responsible for the matters of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), International
Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO), and the
International Oil Pollution and Compensation Funds (IOPC
Funds),mainly dealing with IMO’s Assembly, Council,
Maritime Safety Committee, Marine Environment
Protection Committee and Legal Committee.
Center for International
Maritime Convention
Studies, Dalian Maritime
University, China
Email:
Captain MARTIN A. SEBASTIAN
Capt. Martin A. Sebastian, Royal Malaysian Navy, joined
MIMA in Nov 2011 as Fellow and Centre Head of the Centre
for Maritime Security and Diplomacy. Prior to joining
MIMA, Capt. Martin completed three years of Secondment
with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO),
United Nations Headquarters, New York. He served in the
Office of Military Affairs (OMA) as a Strategic Planner in the
Military Planning Service (MPS).
In OMA, he was appointed as Team Leader for Africa
Planning Team II covering West African peacekeeping
missions. He pioneered the setting up of a maritime
planning section in MPS and was appointed as the OMA
Team Leader for the Maritime Working Group, which
monitored planning requirements for the UNIFIL
Multinational Maritime Operations in Lebanon and riverine
operations in peacekeeping missions. Capt. Martin is
credited for leading a team in the drafting of a UN Policy for
Centre for Maritime
Security and Diplomacy,
Maritime Institute of
Malaysia
Email:
44
Maritime and Riverine Operations in Peacekeeping.
He is country representative in the Council for Security
Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) and Indian Ocean
Rim Association (IORA) Maritime Security Study Group. He
has presented in the ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-
Sessional Meeting on Maritime Security (ARF – ISM MS),
ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus Expert Working Group
(ADMM Plus EWG), ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF) and the
annual Workshop on Managing Potential Conflicts in the
South China Sea.
His field of expertise on Maritime Security is in Diplomatic
engagements, Conventional Operations, Law Enforcement,
Maritime Industry and Maritime Search and Rescue; and
Humanitarian Disaster Relief from the Sea.
Assoc. Prof. NGUYEN VU TUNG
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Vu Tung joined the Diplomatic
Academy of Vietnam, (DAV) in 1990. From July 2010 and
January 2014, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the
Vietnam Embassy in the United States. He is now DAV
President and Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy
and Strategic Studies at the DAV.
He earned the Degree of Master of Arts in Laws and
Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy and got the Ph.D. in Political Science from
Columbia University in 2003.
His main areas of teaching, research, and publications
include international relations theories, international
relations in Southeast Asia and Asia – Pacific, Vietnamese
foreign policy and relations with the United States and
ASEAN.
Diplomatic Academy of
Vietnam
45
Dr. TRAN TRUONG THUY
Dr. Tran Truong Thuy is Director of the Foundation for
East Sea Studies (FESS) and concurrently Deputy Director
General of Bien Dong Maritime Institute at the Diplomatic
Academy of Vietnam (DAV). Before joining the DAV, he
worked as a policy analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Vietnam. His research is focus on regional security and
maritime issues in Asia. He has written quite extensively
on maritime issues and contributed several reports and
policy recommendations on the South China Sea issues. He
is editor and co-author of Power, Law and Maritime Order
in the South China Sea (Lexington, 2014) and (with John
Jenner) of The South China Sea: Sovereignty-based Conflict
or Regional Cooperation? Cambridge University Press
(2016).
Foundation for East Sea
Studies (FESS)
Email:
Prof. CARLYLE A. THAYER
Carlyle A. Thayer is Emeritus Professor at The University of
New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy
and Director of Thayer Consultancy. He holds an A.B. from
Brown, an M.A. (Southeast Asian Studies) from Yale, and a
PhD in International Relations from The Australian
National University. Thayer has held senior appointments
at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Centre for
Defence and Strategic Studies, and the Australian
Command and Staff College. He was the C. V. Starr
Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Advanced
International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (2005)
and the Inaugural Frances M. and Stephen H. Fuller
Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ohio University (2008).
Thayer is the author of over 500 academic publications
including: “The Militarisation of the South China Sea,” in
Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2016: Key
Developments and Trends (IISS 2016) released at the
Shangri-La Dialogue. Since 2009 Thayer has presented 54
academic papers on the South China Sea to international
conferences in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China,
Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, United States and Vietnam.
University of New South
Wales, the Australian
Defense Force Academy
Email:
46
Mr. HIDESHI TOKUCHI
Mr. Hideshi Tokuchi joined the Defense Agency (the
predecessor of the Ministry of Defense) of Japan in 1979
and served as the nation’s first Vice-Minister of Defense for
International Affairs from July 2014 until he left the
Government in October 2015. In the Ministry of Defense
he also had served as the Director-General of several
bureaus including Operations; Personnel and Education;
Finance and Equipment; and Defense Policy.
He taught Japan’s national security policy as a visiting
professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
(GRIPS) from 2002 to 2015. He is a Senior Fellow of the
institute, and also a Senior Research Adviser to the
Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS) now.
Mr. Tokuchi was born in 1955. He received his Bachelor of
Laws degree from the University of Tokyo in 1979, and his
Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (M.A.L.D.) degree
from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1986.
His latest paper in English is “The Defense Force of Japan
Awakens to Address the Contemporary Security
Environment,” in Ron Huisken, ed., CSCAP Regional
Security Outlook 2017 (Council for Security Cooperation in
the Asia Pacific, 2017), pp. 13-15.
National Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies,
Japan
Email:
Commander NGUYEN KHAC VUOT
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Khac Vuot is Director of the
International Relations Division Viet Nam Coast Guard. He
graduated Ship Command Course with the Bs at the
Vietnam Naval Academy; State Management Course at the
National Administrative Academy of Vietnam; Senior Staff
Course in New Zealand Command & Staff College; Post
graduated in Defence & Strategy Studies at Massey
University, New Zealand. His experiences included as
Captain of Naval Ships, Captain of Vietnam Coast Guard
Patrol Ships & Savalge Tug, Staff officer at Vietnam Coast
Guard Headquaters; Partipating in variuos workshops &
conferences both track one and track two on maritime
security.
International Cooperation
Division, Viet Nam Coast
Guard
47
Prof. SHI YINHONG
SHI Yinhong, Professor of International Relations,
Chairman of Academic Committee of the School for
International Studies, and Director of the Center on
American Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
He has served as a Counsellor of the State Council of PRC
since February 2011. His previous positions include
Professor of International History at Nanjing University
and Professor of International Relations at International
Relations Academy, Nanjing. He also served as President of
American Historical Research Association of China from
1996 to 2002. He taught graduate courses as Visiting
Professor of Public Policy three times at University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Visiting Professor of Modern
China Studies at Aichi University in Nagoya. He received a
Ph.D. in international history from Nanjing University in
1988. He mainly engages in history and ideas of
international politics, strategic studies, East Asia security
and foreign policies of both China and the United States. He
has published seventeen books, more than 580
professional articles and essays, as well as sixteen
translated books mainly on strategic history and
international politics.
Center on American
Studies, Renmin University
Email:
Ms. COLIN WILLETT
Colin Willett served for six years in the Obama
Administration working on East Asian strategic issues. As
Director for Southeast Asia at the National Security Council
and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs, Colin set the agenda for the President’s
engagement with the region’s premier political and
security forums, and led U.S. government deliberations on
South China Sea policy, and developed new initiatives
aimed at deepening U.S. economic ties to the new ASEAN
Community.
Colin is currently a non-resident senior associate at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington, DC.
Colin holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Tufts
University and a Bachelor of Arts is Economics from the
College of William and Mary.
State Department, United
States
Email:
48
Dr. KIM WONHEE
Kim Wonhee is a Senior Researcher at the Korea Maritime
Institute. He received his LL.B., Master of Law from Ajou
University and Ph.D. in International Law from Seoul
National University. Prior to joining the KMI, he was
Assistant Researcher at Law Research Institute of Seoul
National University and Secretary in Chief of the Korean
Society of International Law. He also has taught public
international law and judicial settlement of international
disputes at Ewha Womans University and Konkuk
University. His research interests include territorial and
boundary dispute, the lawof the sea, maritime security
strategy and the law and practice of international courts
and tribunals. Recent publications include “Burden and
Standard of Proof in Territorial Disputes before the
International Court of Justice” (2013); “Legal Implications
of the CLCS’s Recommendation on the Outer Limits of
Argentine’s Continental Shelf beyond 200 nm” (2015);
“Interpretative Guidance on the Legal Status of Island
under Article 121(3) of UNCLOS by the South China Sea
Arbitral Award and its Implications for the Policy on
Dokdo” (2016).
Korea Maritime Institute,
Korea
Email:
49
EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF PAPERS
OPENING SESSION:
Keynote Address by H.E. Judge Vladimir Vladimirovich Golitsyn, President of the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) (2014-2017)
Adjudication and Arbitration in Maritime Disputes and the Role of
International Law
The statement considers the establishment by the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter “the Convention”) of a
dispute settlement system to be a success story so far. It welcomes the
increasing use made by States Parties of the system and the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (hereinafter “the ITLOS”) in particular, in
recent years and sees this as a reflection of these States’ confidence that
international courts and tribunals entrusted with adjudicating disputes
under the Convention are discharging their tasks with a high degree of
professionalism and responsibility.
The statement notes that although it is difficult to identify a single definition
of global governance, this concept can generally be understood as a process
encompassing all relevant policy and action in respect of the world’s oceans,
including the management and use of ocean resources. The statement points
out in this respect that judicial institutions constitute an integral element of
this governance process by providing authoritative guidance on what the
law of the sea is and by fostering the progressive development of
international law.
Turning to the question of the challenges facing international judicial
institutions, including the Tribunal, as they strive to fulfil their functions and
bring about the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes, the statement
draws attention to three emerging global trends, which in the view of the
presenter, are somewhat troubling.
These trends are identified as following: the issue of use of international
judicial proceedings by States for political purposes; a risk that international
judicial institutions may at times lose sight of their role as mechanisms to
facilitate the settlement of disputes; and the challenges posed by the
existence of multiple international judicial institutions and, in particular, the
issue of which judicial institution is competent in some cases to adjudicate
disputes arising under the Convention.
50
The statement examines these three trends emphasizing the responsibility
of international courts and tribunals to ensure fairness and efficiency in the
conduct of cases before them.
SESSION I:
CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
I.1
South China Sea’s centrality to the Indo-Pacific region
Prof. Brahma Chellaney
As U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently put it, “The Indo-Pacific —
including the entire Indian Ocean, the Western Pacific, and the nations that
surround them — will be the most consequential part of the globe in the
21st century,” adding: “The world’s center of gravity is shifting to the heart
of the Indo-Pacific.” The South China Sea, as a strategically crucial corridor
through which half of the world’s annual merchant fleet tonnage passes, is
the heart of the Indo-Pacific region. The South China Sea is critical to the
larger contest for influence in the Asia-Pacific region, marked by the
confluence of the Pacific and Indian oceans. In this light, the South China Sea
has emerged as the symbolic center of the international maritime challenges
of the twenty-first century. The developments there will impinge on the
global maritime order. It is thus important to shape developments in the
South China Sea in a positive direction, including by ensuring that
unilateralism by any power is not cost-free.
I.2
De-escalating Tension in the South China Sea for Regional Stability and
Cooperation
Prof. You Ji
The South China Sea (SCS) has been relatively calm lately. However, the SCS
disputes are resilient and may worsen promptly because none of the root-
causes for standoffs has been effectively dealt with. This paper will track
these causes that have underlined the upward spiral of dispute escalation
among the SCS claimants in recent years, and analyze particularly the
military aspects of the dispute. At the same time this paper explores
possible measures for dispute management, an essential precondition for
creating a conducive maritime order in Asia.
An Asian maritime order matters to all in the region and is the key to
maintaining peace. As far as the SCS is concerned, a stable order must be
built on a regional consensus that disputes should not be resolved by force.
As such militarization, although natural in all border disputes, should be
51
consciously lowered to a minimum level, which specifically means no
deployment of offensive weapons systems in the occupied islands. The
existing rules of the game governing high-sea encounters should be
observed to prevent accidental fire and standoffs. There must be more
vigorous codes of conduct adopted with the consent of the regional
countries, e.g., administrative enforcement and troops/weapons
deployment in the disputed areas.
I.3
The South China Sea Conundrum
Dr. Euan Graham
My presentation considers how the international dynamic iscurrently
developing on the South China Sea. International media attention has
recently declined following years of intense focus on the South China Sea:
China’s island building program, the Philippine arbitration case and US
freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs). Are we already past “peak
South China Sea” as far as the international community is concerned? If so, is
this attention deficit also matched by waning US and regional official
interest, given other pressing security concerns like North Korea?
There is a growing impression that the South China Sea is becalmed. Some
go further, claiming it has already been transformed into a zone of Chinese
influence. Such impressions sit oddly with the ongoing efforts of some
Southeast Asian littoral states to preserve maritime freedoms, resources
and the rule of international law at sea. Beijing has been at pains to
emphasise that ASEAN-China engagement on the Code of Conduct has
successfully arrived at a “framework” for managing tensions, and continues
to push back at alleged interference by outside powers, especially the United
States. After a hesitant start, the Trump administration has now established
a regular tempo for South China Sea FONOPs. But there is continuing
uncertainty about where the South China Sea fits within US strategy, and
what is Washington’s overall strategy for the region. For China, questions
surround the influence of the upcoming party congress: will Beijing become
more or less assertive externally in its wake? Under currents of tension and
strategic competition remain latent. The only question is when will the
South China Sea emerge on to the front burner again.
I.4
When Populists Perform Foreign Policy: The South China Sea Dispute
and the Philippines under Duterte
Dr. Aries A. Arugay
With barely one year in office, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has
declared bold changes in the country’s formerly conservative and
predictable foreign policy. The contempt for the West, admiration toward
unlikely allies such as Russia and China, and indifference toward
52
international law and norms were all essential departures from the nation’s
previous positions. This presentationexamines the changes in Philippine
foreign policy under Duterte particularly his handling of the South China Sea
dispute. It analyzes the firebrand president’s foreign policy pronouncements
through the prism of populism and performativity (Moffitt 2016). It argues
that domestic audience costs more than external strategic realities limit the
sweeping foreign policy changes Duterte seeks to implement. This paper
also analyses a survey of more than 500 Facebook users co-commissioned
by the author on a wide variety of questions related to Duterte’s foreign
policy approach populist policies and Philippine foreign relations.In the end,
the realization of a more independent Philippine foreign policy envisioned
by Duterte needs to be reconciled with existing strategic realities,
institutional logics, and the trajectory of Philippine domestic politics.
Moreover, the sustainability of performative (rather than principled)
foreign policy depends on reconciling the tensions and overlaps between
the audiences and constituencies of the president’s performances. Finally,
any successful defense and promotion of the national interest will also be
contingent on the ability of the foreign policy bureaucracy to implement the
policy content of his performances.
I.5
Vietnam’s Strategic Options in the South China Sea (SCS) in the Age of
Trump
Pham Quang Minh & Le Hoang Giang
In a new changing world, Vietnam’s strategies in general, especially those in
the South China Sea (SCS) must be changed and adapted to the new context.
In order to preserve its national interests and protect its sovereignty in the
SCS, Vietnam needs to weight its strategic options carefully, particularly
with regards to major powers with a stake in the dispute. The main
objective of this paper is to explore some strategic options for Vietnam in
order to protect its sovereignty in the SCS. In order to do so it starts with
brief introduction about main theories and strategies. The following part
focuses on current situation, especially the impact of Trump’s presidency on
the SCS dispute, and the new strategies of China such as Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI), and others. The last part will analyze Vietnam’s approach
options including balancing, buck-passing, bandwagoning, and hedging. It
also tries to elaborate their feasibility. The paper concludes that there is no
alternative, and the choice of options depends on many factors.
53
SESSION II:
POWERS' INTERACTIONS AND RULE-BASED ORDER IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
II.1
An Effect of Trump and More: The Emerging Retrenchment of China’s
Strategic Posture
Prof. Shi Yinhong
Due to various causes, China’s past performance of strategic posture in East
Asia and the western Pacific since 2012 until recent time was characterized
mainly by assertiveness and expansion with hardliner actions, resulting in
both positive and negative consequences for China itself from a Chinese
perspective. However, there were already changed or changing situations,
both domestic and international, and their impacts upon China’s strategic
behavior in the direction of moderation in the same regions even before
Donald Trump’s election. Still, Trump with his election is a tipping point in
the sense that he imposed fear on Chinas and then brought, somewhat
inadvertently, pleasure to China, with both having further moderating effect
to China’s strategic posture. So, there has been the referred emerging
retrenchment with its nearly comprehensive indications, including
significantly Beijing’s almost extraordinarily moderation over South China
Sea and more active attempt to push relations with ASEAN to stabilize
maritime situation. Strategically speaking, the retrenchnment should be
regarded as quite positive for China’s longer overall interest for its nature of
delaying the Clausewitzian “culminating point of victory”. However,
remarkable facts and an analysis of pros and cons of elements to influence
the prospects of the present China-U.S. relations suggest that there is still
obviously uncertainties on the part of Donal Trump as well as those (though
less prominently) on the part of Xin Jinping, with possibility of reverse again
over time. The Most recent development is that almost suddenly the
“broromance” or “honeymoon” was over, in a large part due to Trump’s
unstrategic strategy toward China. Relationship returned to normal, a
normality characterized by increasing rivalry and decreasing cooperation.
II.2
US' perspective of the South China Sea Order
Ms. Colin Willett
The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States has raised
new questions about the American approach to East Asian strategic issues,
including the South China Sea. While underlying US interests in the region
remain unchanged, President Trump’s unpredictable leadership style,
suggestions of a new, more transactional approach to foreign policy, and
skepticism about international affairs suggest possible changes in US South
54
China Sea policy. While it is too early to tell how permanent US domestic
political changes will be, their impact on the region may be significant and
lasting.
II.3
A Japanese Perspective of the South China Sea Order
Mr. Hideshi Tokuchi
East Asian maritime stability is indispensable to ensure the peace and
prosperity of the entire Asia-Pacific.
Rules-based order at sea benefits everyone as the sea has the connecting
power. No matter how urgent in the Asia-Pacific it is to cope with the North
Korean nuclear and missile ambition, maritime security has its own
importance and urgency. South China Sea issues are not bargaining chips to
induce Chinese cooperation to address North Korea. We should continue to
work together for maritime security in the South China Sea to establish
rules-based order there.
II.4
Challenges to Maritime Security in Asia and Implications for Europe
Ms. Theresa Fallon
The European Union (EU) is concerned by challenges to maritime security in
Asia not only because it seeks to promote peace, avoid conflicts and uphold
international law worldwide, but also because it has a direct interest in the
sea lanes of communication through which most of its trade flows. Arguably,
any maritime security crisis in Asia would have ripple effects with global
consequences affecting Europe too.
European Council President Tusk stated in his speech at the East Asia
Summit in Manila this November 2017: “If we look at security issues, it is
evident how close our regions have become. Most crises today have a global
impact.” The new US policy of "America first" and apparent US withdrawal
from global issues under the Trump administration open new needs and
opportunities for the EU to step up efforts and redefine its own relations
with Asia, based on the June 2016 EU Global Strategy calling for a deepening
of economic diplomacy and an increased security role for the EU in Asia. So
far the EU has relied on the US to address security matters in Asia. Is the
EU’s convenient marginalization in Asia coming to an end?
One may legitimately wonder what the role of the EU may be in this context.
The EU is for the most part viewed as an economic giant but political dwarf
in Asia with an overt focus on trade and investment relations rather than on
security. It does not have its own armed forces but relies on those of its
Member States, who need to agree by unanimity before launching any
security operation. And any operations tend to be limited in scope.
Nevertheless, the EU has an important diplomatic role to play: Its
55
declarations carry some weight and attract attention, as its 2016
declarations on the South China Sea. Will individual Asian countries
successfully lobby on individual EU Member States to split the EU, or will
the EU manage to speak and act with one voice on Asian maritime security
matters?
President Tusk spoke of increased security cooperation under the ASEAN-
EU Plan of Action. He mentioned counterterrorism, with information
sharing via Interpol and Europol, as well as the fight against piracy, illegal
fishing and any other type of transnational crime at sea. The EU has already
deployed maritime security operations off the coast of Somalia and in the
Mediterranean. How relevant would this type of operation be to the
challenges to maritime security in Asia? Would the EU consider Freedom of
Navigation Operations to protect its trade interests and enforce
international law? The recent decision by 23 of the 28 Member States of the
EU to launch a Permanent Structured Cooperation on security and defence
will enhance the defence capabilities of the EU and its readiness to conduct
EU military operations. In a future, even more globalized world, will the EU
be ready to use its enhanced capabilities to promote maritime security in
Asia?
SESSION III:
THE MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY BALANCE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
III.1
Risks of Confrontational Naval Buildup in the South China Sea
Dr. Fu-Kuo Liu
In the context of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, parties
concerned competing for sovereignty have been beefing up their naval
capability. Stepping up protection of sovereign rights, Chinese deployment
of more advanced naval vessels including nuclear submarines in the South
China Sea region has increasingly become a regional security highlight. In
response, not only do other claimants speed up the progress of naval
modernization, but also other external powers step up involvement of naval
activities. As those who by nature deploy navies into the region clearly
project confrontational posture against others, it has heightened risks of
conflict and may have aggravated rather than alleviated tensions in the
South China Sea.
Politically, countries involved would appeal to the international community
for defensive nature of military modernization or preventive military
56
presence in the South China Sea. In reality, they would nevertheless reckon
with potential aggressors. As regional tension mounts, naval buildup among
claimants is inevitable and has prevailed in the region. The likelihood of
military encounter is hastily increasing. Diplomatically, the only hope for the
region seems to await for successful negotiation of the Code of Conducts in
the South China Sea sooner. But, the South China Sea has become the testing
ground of modern armed races, in particular naval deployment. For now, the
most pressing issue is to avoid unplanned encounter at sea and in air,
decrease tension, facilitate dialogue and establish reliable communication
mechanisms among all parties concerned.
The paper reasons that instead of emphasizing strategic competition among
great powers and naval deployment of claimants, it would be more
reasonable to address peaceful approaches with a common stake. Taking
realistic approaches to maintain stability in the South China Sea, the region
has to highlight the present risky trend of confrontational naval buildup
developed and may thus be able to avoid the danger of naval buildup.
III.2
Law Enforcement in the South China Sea: The Role of Regional Coast
Guards
Prof. Carlyle A. Thayer
This presentation provides an overview of the constabulary roles of five
regional maritime law enforcement agencies (China Coast Guard, the
Vietnam Coast Guard, the Philippine Coast Guard, Malaysian Maritime
Enforcement Agency and Indonesia’s Maritime Security Agency/Indonesian
Coast Guard) in the South China Sea.
This presentation is divided into five parts. The first part provides a general
overview of the differing roles and missions of regional coast guards in
exercising sovereign jurisdiction in their respective Exclusive Economic
Zones and meeting transnational security challenges such as piracy. Part
two discusses the comparative capacity of regional coast guards. Part three
reviews the current operations of regional coast guards particularly in
disputed waters in the South China Sea. Part four provides an analysis of
intra-regional cooperation among Southeast Asian states as well as
cooperation between Southeast Asian states and China, Japan, the United
States and South Korea. Part five, critically evaluates prospects for various
forms of multilateral cooperation including a proposal to stand up an ASEAN
Coast Guard.
57
III.3
Grey zones between Navy, Law Enforcement and Maritime Militia
Mr. Lyle J. Morris
The need for navy-coast guard cooperation has increased over the last
decade due to the challenge posed by gray zone actions by maritime actors
in Southeast Asia, especially near disputed territory where policy-makers
seek to contain the challenge using law enforcement, not military means. Yet
for most states, the nature of this delineation has not been adequately
addressed or is still being determined. Using the region of the South China
Sea as a case study, and drawing upon interoperability linkages with the
United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as a model, this paper
proposes that greater coordination and interoperability between navies and
coast guards should be pursued among states in the region as one
prescription to address gray zone challenges. While significant investments
in training, C4I and legal authorities are necessary in the long term to
achieve true interoperability, this paper proposes steps that states can take
to enhance existing linkages.
III.4
An Assessment of Strategic Threats and Risks in the South China Sea
Dr. Do Thanh Hai
The paper is designed to make an assessment of dynamic strategic threats
and risks in the South China Sea. By defining the concepts of threat and risk,
the paper takes stock of the shifts in capabilities, perceptions of others'
strategic intents, and possibilities and consequences of potential conflicts in
the region, and analyses how the strategic landscape has been affected. It is
argued that that the security ecosystem in the maritime region has
worsened by increased security dilemma caused by inexplicably rapid pace
of growth in naval capabilities and other types of coercive means.
SESSION IV:
ACTIVITIES AT SEA: SOURCES OF CONFLICT OR AREAS FOR COOPERATION
IV.1
Maritime Cooperation for Regional Security in the South China Sea
Prof. Renping Zhang
The South China Sea is one of the most important shipping lanes in the
world through which more than 85% international seaborne trade are
transported. Both the maritime and shipping industry play pivotal roles
topromote the regional cooperation in the South China Sea. This paper
points out the pivotal roles the maritime and shipping plays in the region.
The paper further explains the shipping-related legal implication and
58
application for the use of oceans. Then the implication of UNCLOS in relation
to the implementation of maritime safety conventions is considered and
analised. The global marine technology trendsare highlighted with a view to
identifying potentialimpacts on maritime legal regime. Finally, the paper
proposes maritime cooperationfor regional safety and securityin the South
China Sea.
IV.2
Law Enforcement and Illegal Fishing: Incidents in the Indonesian
Waters
Ms. Shafiah F. Muhibat
The competition of states for marine resources in the waters of the South
China Sea runs deep. Indonesia’s water territory covers 5,877,879 square
kilometers, most of which are packed with fish. The vast area, however, is
difficult to monitor, especially with a limited number of patrol boats. The
Indonesian authorities has in recent years taken a hard line against fishing
vessels operating illegally in Indonesian waters, including by stepping up
patrols around the Natuna Islands, at the southern end of the South China
Sea. There is a geo-strategic/security implications of Indonesia’s hardline
policy against illegal fishing, particularly in light of the South China Sea
dispute. China’s Nine-dash Line would encroach on the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) that Indonesia derives from its Natuna Islands (the northern
part of the islands), although it does not cover any of the landmass of the
Natuna Islands.When Indonesia sunk the first Chinese fishing vessel in 2015,
many took that as a statement to Beijing. In 2016, there were three serious
incidents of fishing vessels from China in the Natuna waters, which
significantly rose the tension in the bilateral relations. Not only with China,
Indonesia’s hard-hitting policy is prone to creating tension with other
neighbouring countries as well, including Vietnam. This raises the question
of what sort of policy should be taken in dealing with illegal fishing? As
Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing is increasingly recognised as a
serious global problem, there are call for littoral states to step up the
capability of their law enforcement to deal with the issue. Yet, as this
problem is transnational, there is bound to be tension with the neighbouring
countries.
IV.3
Fighting Piracy and Terrorism
Captain Martin A. Sebastian
Piracy and Maritime Terrorism, two distinct threats of regional importance.
One profit motivated and the other politically motivated. Are they getting
enough attention in the region or is there a fundamental flaw in the way
they are being addressed. The paper will examine on the threat of piracy in
the South China Sea and will elaborate on the actions taken. It will also
59
examine vulnerable targets for maritime terrorism and identify gaps. The
paper will conclude on the opportunities for regional collaboration with a
view of developing a regional deterrence against these threats.
SESSION V:
LEGAL DIMENSIONS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
V.1
The Use of Force and Threat of Use of Force in International Law and
Practices in the South China Sea.
Prof. Geneviève Bastid Burdeau
The limits to the use of force and threat to use force have been defined
under international law on the basis of the UN Charter by the jurisprudence.
Concerning the use of force and threat to use force at sea, besides the
general rules of international law, a place has to be made to the police
powers recognized to the states by the UNCLOS in the different parts of the
sea (territorial sea, EEZ, high seas) to ensure compliance with rules of
navigation an of protection of the natural resources and of the environment.
The 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC)
provides important guidelines as to the way coercion may be used In the
South China Sea. Although the legal value of the DOC might be discussed, it
can be considered as enshrining a regional consensus on the conduct to be
observed. The practice of states has to be appreciated at the light of the DOC
as well as at the light of rules of the UN Charter and of the UNCLOS. In the
SCS difficulties have arisen about the areas where police powers have been
deployed as well as about the kind of means employed and about the
principles of proportionality and reasonableness.
V.2
International Law and Prevention of Incidents at Sea
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh
The paper considers “incidents at sea”, defined as collisions between vessels
navigating through the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and high sea
in which at least one party involves state vessels, either navy or law
enforcement. The paper analyses the current international legal framework
on prevention of incidents at sea under the 1982 United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Convention on the International
Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (COLREGs) and
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS). The
paper also highlights significant state practices in applying and complying
with international law on prevention of incidents at sea between the United
States and the former Soviet Union, the United States and China, China and
Japan and the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS). Given the rising
60
number of incidents that can easily escalate into conflicts in the South China
Sea recently, the paper draws lessons from successful state practices in
applying international law on the prevention of incidents at sea and
proposes cooperative initiatives to prevent and reduce incidents in the
South China Sea. The initiatives focus on (i) integrating and developing
existing provisions on prevention of incidents at sea into the expected
substantial negotiation on COC between China and ASEAN; (ii) the
establishment of a consultation and review mechanisms on incidents arising
in the South China Sea between law enforcement forces of relevant parties;
and (iii) functional cooperative activities in the field of prevention of
incidents at sea.
V.3
International Law and Protection of Marine Environment in the South
China Sea
Dr. Kim Wonhee
Despite a fierce controversy over the arbitral award in the South China Sea
Arbitration, it is a milestone in international environmental law. On the
merits phase, the Tribunal rendered the award on the damage for the first
time to endangered species or fragile ecosystem by clarifying the extent and
scope of environmental obligations under the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea. It also found that the general obligation of article 192
and 194 under the Convention should be interpreted by referring to
obligations set out in relevant environmental conventions and agreements
such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and CITES. Moreover, the
Tribunal gave positive meaning to the obligation on environmental impact
assessment under article 206 of the Convention and Chinese domestic laws
as including the obligations to perform an EIA and to communicate it.
The aim of this presentation is to analyze critically the Tribunal’s findings on
obligation to preserve and protect marine environment as well as to identify
the legal implications of the award on marine environmental protection in
the South China Sea. First, it will consider whether it was appropriate for the
Tribunal to interpret the obligations in articles 192 and 194(5) by referring
to customary international law and other conventions relating to
environmental protection. Although the Tribunal recognized the content of
article 192 and 194(5) of the Convention be informed by the international
environmental legal instruments that form part of the general corpus of
international law, it might expand the scope of the general obligations of the
Convention providing for compulsory dispute settlement mechanism by
referring to other conventions that does not. Second, it will delve into the
obligation on EIA recognized by the Tribunal and its legal implications for
marine environmental protection in the South China Sea. The Tribunal
found that the environmental obligations in Part XII of the Convention apply
to States irrespective of where the alleged harmful activities took place. It
61
still raises some questions of whether violation of the obligation on EIA can
be invoked by any State parties to the Convention without legal interest and
to what extent the coastal State shall inform the report of the EIA. Third, it
will seek to evaluate the Tribunal’s approach to evaluating scientific
evidence when determining the violations of the obligation on marine
environmental protection under the Convention.
From the close analysis on the implications of the award, it will try to make
practical recommendations for enhancing preservation and protection of
marine environment in the South China Sea.
V.4
Revisiting the South China Sea Arbitration
Prof. Jay Batongbacal
A year and a quarter after the promulgation of the Award in Philippines v.
China, major sea changes in Philippine foreign policy have created a
renewed atmosphere of friendship between the two parties. However, there
has been little change in the situation at sea, and the parties’ behavior have
changed in ways different from those expected. These changes are
considered in light of the Award’s sweeping determinations on the status of
waters in the SCS. It will then attempt to draw some insight into where
current relations are heading, and how they may be used to anticipate the
future behavior of relevant States.
SESSION VI:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION INITIATIVES
VI.1
China's New South China Sea Approach Following Belt and Road
Initiative
Ms. Chen Chenchen
Amid the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which
is an important part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative proposed in late
2013, the impacts of the MSR on the South China Sea (SCS) disputes become
a focal point of both academic research and public concern. Would the MSR
mean an opportunity for settling the SCS disputes, or would it face the
challenge of intensified conflicts in the SCS? I tend to agree with the former:
the construction of the MSR is more likely to provide an opportunity for
settling the SCS issue, rather than exacerbating it. Generally speaking, in
recent few years, China is endeavoring to boost positive interaction between
the the construction of the MSR and the settlement of SCS disputes. Ideally
they would mutually exert positive effects on each other, and ultimately help
62
build a close China-ASEAN community of shared destiny, which is the
fundamental guideline for China’s neighborhood diplomacy in the wake of
the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative. There are challenges ahead, but
the pragmatic cooperation seems to serve as a positive drive at this stage.
VI.2
Sustainable fisheries in the South China Sea
Ms. Joanna Mossop
The South China Sea is a vital source of food security for the region and a
cradle of marine biodiversity. However the obstacles to achieving
sustainable fishing in the South China Sea are well known. In particular,
ongoing tensions over the sovereignty of territorial features in the region, as
well as a lack of clarity around the legal principles applied by all parties to
the dispute, have stood in the way of achieving cooperation and
coordination of fisheries management in the region. Although many
observers have made proposals to create a regional framework for fisheries
cooperation and management that attempts to avoid sovereignty disputes,
so far these have not been received with enthusiasm by coastal states. This
paper will re-examine these proposals in light of the South China Sea
arbitration. Although China has refused to accept the decision, the question
remains whether the legal principles highlighted in parts of the decision
might assist coastal states to move forward towards sustainable fisheries in
the South China Sea, provided there is political will to do so.
VI.3
Prospects for Joint Development in the South China Sea: Implications
of Recent International Decisions & Regional State Practice
Prof. David M. Ong
This paper will survey the prospects for the joint development of shared
natural resources within the South China Sea, taking into account the
implications of recent international litigation and regional State practice. It
will highlight 1) the different means States have utilised to resolve their
overlapping claims disputes; 2) the increasing ‘normative density’ of
procedural obligations for negotiating provisional arrangements for such
overlapping claims; 3) the variety of joint development & other co-operative
arrangements for shared natural resources in these overlapping claims
areas; and finally, 4) the continuing need for political will to resolve such
disputes substantively, inter alia, through the adoption of such joint
development & other co-operative arrangements.
63
VI.4
Cooperate for Safe and Security at sea
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Khac Vuot
Seas, a mother of nature, it is a major resource for regional countries, which
rely on it for stable trade routes, living marine resources, and energy wealth.
It is also can be exploited by transnational criminals that overcapacity of any
a single powerful country or a single agency can deal with effectively.
Besides that, the regional countries still see a potential risk of maritime
instability. To resolve these issues a lot of good ideas for cooperation, but
why it is still not become realistic? This paper to analysis and discuss how
should regional countries can cooperate with each other to keep good order
at sea.
SESSION VII:
PANEL DISCUSSION: CODE OF CONDUCT (COC): SUBSTANCE AND PROCESS
VII.1
Can the COC establish a Framework for a Cooperative Mechanism?
Prof. Robert Beckman
After many years of talks and negotiations, in August 2017 the Foreign
Ministers of ASEAN & China endorsed a framework for the Code of Conduct
for the South China Sea.
But the framework is only a necessary first step. The successful negotiation
of a COC faces many obstacles. Perhaps the biggest obstacle it faces is
unrealistic expectations. Simply stated, it is highly unlikely that agreement
will be reached setting out clear rights and obligations in a legally binding
instrument with a system of compulsory binding dispute settlement.
What the COC can do is establish a framework for a cooperative mechanism
in the South China Sea. Any cooperative mechanism for the South China Sea
will not be successful unless it is established “without prejudice” to the
underlying territorial sovereignty disputes and maritime disputes in the
South China Sea. By participating in the Cooperative Mechanism, claimants
will not be giving up their sovereignty and maritime claims in the South
China Sea; nor will they be recognizing the legitimacy of the sovereignty and
maritime claims of any other claimant.
Some elements of Cooperative Mechanism for the Straits of Malacca and
Singapore (SOMS) could be adopted and adapted for the Cooperative
Mechanism in the South China Sea. For example, just as the States bordering
the SOMS control the Cooperative Mechanism for SOMS through decisions
based on consensus, the States bordering the South China Sea could control
the cooperative mechanism for the South China Sea through decisions based
64
on consensus.
Under the cooperative mechanism the States bordering the South China Sea
could establish cooperation zones in particular areas of the disputed Spratly
Islands. The States bordering the South China Sea could all agree not to
carry out certain activities in the cooperation zones. For example, all fishing
activities could be prohibited in the cooperation zones, and each State
bordering the South China Sea would undertake to take such measures as
are necessary to ensure that its nationals and vessels flying its flag comply
with the regulations that apply in the cooperation zones. Mechanisms could
also be established to monitor the state of the marine environment in the
cooperation zones and to engage in joint marine scientific research.
The Cooperation Mechanism for the South China Sea could also provide a
framework for cooperation to protect and preserve the marine
environment. This could include the prevention of pollution from ship-
source pollution and from plastic debris. Cooperation to address such issues
could include the States bordering the Gulf of Thailand as well as States
from outside the region that are able to provided technical and financial
assistance.
65
INDEX I: INFORMATION ABOUT VIET NAM
People and Language
The population of The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is more than 87.7 million
with an urban population consisting of about 30,6%. There are 54 ethnic
minority groups living in Vietnam. The “Kinh” people (or “Viet”) accounts for
nearly 90% of the population. Major ethnic minority groups include the Tay,
Muong, H’Mong, Dzao and Khmer.
Official language: Vietnamese
Land & History
The land of Viet Nam has an S shape with a total surface area of approximately
329,600 km2. Viet Nam is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the west,
Cambodia to the southwest and the South China Sea to the east. Vietnam’s
coastline is more than 3,260 km long. The land is divided into mountains,
highlands, deltas, rivers and forests. The capital of Viet Nam is Hanoi.
Climate
Viet Nam has a tropical climate with lots of sunshine, high rainfall and high
humidity. There are two distinguished seasons in general: the winter or dry
season from November to April and the summer or wet one from May to
October. Annual average temperature is usually high and ranging from 210C
to 280C (69.80F to 84.20F). However, this may varies from the North to the
South of Vietnam.
Currency
The currency is the Vietnamese Dong (VND). Foreign currencies can be
exchanged at the banks, exchange bureaus or hotel reception desks.
Travellers’ cheque and most of Credit Cards are widely accepted in major
cities.
1 USD = 22.275 VND
Time
Time zone: GMT/UTC + 7.
Business days: Monday to Friday.
Business hours: Mornings: 08.00 – 12.00; Afternoon: 13.00 – 17.00.
Public Holidays
January 01: New Year’s Day.
Late January to mid – February: Vietnamese Lunar New Year (04
days off).
66
April 30: Re-unification Day.
May 01: International Labour Day.
September 02: National Day.
Food and Drinks
There is a wide range of dishes in Vietnam, including the very popular
traditional foods like spring rolls (“Nem”) and the Vietnamese noodle soup
(“Pho”). They can be eaten with rice or noodles. Not all foods are spicy.
Vegetarian foods, dietary and western menus are also widely served at many
restaurants across the country. A rich variety of tropical fruits is also available
but may vary depending on the season.
Imported beers and alcohols are available at hotels, restaurants and shops.
There are many Vietnamese brands or country wines made from rice.
However, if you prefer to drink water, please use bottled mineral water, which
has an unbroken seal. Do no ingest tap water that has not been boiled.
Emergency numbers
Police: 113.
Fire Brigade: 114.
First Aid: 115.
67
HO CHI MINH CITY
Overview
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as
Saigon) is vibrant and charming, filled
with friendly people, an alluring
culture, and all the conveniences of a
modern city. Dynamic and ambitious, it
is the safest, fastest-growing city in
Southeast Asia . With a rising economy,
a well-educated populace, and modern
facilities, Ho Chi Minh City is
considered the economic, cultural,
scientific, and technological hub of the
country.
Geography
Ho Chi Minh City has an area of
approximately 2,094 square
kilometers. It is located from 10°10' –
10°38' North latitude and 106°22' –
106°54' East longitude. The city has
Binh Duong Province in the north, Tay
Ninh Province in the northwest, Dong
Nai Province in the east and northeast, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in the southeast,
and Long An and Tien Giang provinces in the west and southwest.
Ho Chi Minh City is 1,730km from Hanoi by land and is at the crossroads of
international maritime routes. It is also at the center of Southeast Asia. The city
center is 50km from the East Sea in a straight line. It is a transport hub of the
southern region and a gateway to the world, having the largest port system and
airport in Vietnam.
Population
According to population census in 2011, the population in Ho Chi Minh City was
7,521,138 persons. The distribution of population in the city was quite uneven. While
the population density in district 4, 5, 10 and 11 was over 40,000 persons / km²,
some suburban districts like Can Gio district own relatively low density of 98
persons / km². According to General Statistics Office of Vietnam, up to 1 April 2009,
Ho Chi Minh City was home to enough 54 ethnic groups.
Climate & Weather
Situated in savanna climate region, Ho Chi Minh City climate retains two distinct
seasons, namely the rainy season from May to November with annual average
68
rainfall of 1.979mm. Meanwhile, the dry season lasts from December to April. Two
mainly annual wind directions are West - Southwest and North - Northeast.
The temperature is mild, at the average of 27°C - 29°C. The difference in temperature
between the highest month and the lowest month does not surpass 5°C. The average
humidity is 75-80%.
Place of Interest
The Reunification Palace, formerly known as
Independence Palace, or Norodom Palace, is located in
Nam Ky Khoi Nghia street in Ho Chi Minh city. This
building, built by the French between 1868 and 1873 and
named for King of Cambodia Norodom I, is surrounded by
a large shady park. It was rebuilt in 1962 by order of Ngo
Dinh Diem, President of the Saigon regime. The building is
a perfect blend of modern architecture and traditional
oriental architecture. In November 1975, the palace hosted the Political Consultative
Meeting on the reunification of north and south. After this event, the palace was
renamed Reunification Palace. In 1976, the palace was recognized as a special
cultural historical relic.
Nha Rong wharf - Ho Chi Minh Museum is a popular
tourist destination in Ho Chi Minh City. This was the place
where President Ho Chi Minh embarked in 1911 to seek a
path to national salvation. After the liberation of Saigon
and national reunification in 1975, Nha Rong became a
memorial site dedicated to the great Vietnamese leader.
In 1995, this building was upgraded to become a branch
of the Ho Chi Minh Museum. Today it covers more than 148,000 square meters and
has nine exhibit halls. More than 11,300 documents and objects are on display and
450 are shown outdoors giving visitors information about Ho Chi Minh’s life and
revolutionary career.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our
Lady of The Immaculate Conception is located in the
downtown of Ho Chi Minh City. Constructed between
1863 and 1880 by the French colonists, following their
conquest of the city, the building reaches a height of up to
60m. Initially, it was called Saigon Church. The name
Notre-Dame Cathedral was given after Bishop Pham Van
Thien held a ceremony to install the statue of Peaceful Notre Dame, made with
granite from Rome, in 1959. In 1962, Vatican anointed it as Saigon Chief Cathedral
conferred it basilique. Since this time, this cathedral is called Saigon Notre-Dame
Cathedral Basilica.
69
Standing magnificently at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City is
the Saigon Opera House, which is also known as the
Municipal Theater. At the turn of the 20th century, this
magnificent building, designed by French architect Ferret
Eugene, was built as a classical opera house with 800
seats to entertain French colonists. After 1956, the house
functioned as home of the Lower House Assembly of
Southern Vietnam. It’s not until 1975 that the opera house was restored to its
original purpose of use.
The People’s Committee Building of Ho Chi Minh City
was built and put into use in 1909 as a hotel whose
original name was Hôtel de Ville. This building is thus one
of the oldest, biggest and most beautiful French style
buildings in Ho Chi Minh City, functioning both as a city
institution and as the city’s most prominent landmark
today. In fornt of the building, lying a small yard with
many trees, flowers and especially the statue named “Uncle Ho and children” made
by artist Nguyen Minh Chau. The statue was made to show the love and respect of
Vietnamese people to the greatest leader Ho Chi Minh as well as to remind us of his
loving children personality.
Ben Thanh Market, with its famous clock on the facade
of the southern gate, is an architectural symbol of Ho Chi
Minh City. Built in 1870 by the French, the market was
initially called Les Halles Centrales before being renamed
Ben Thanh in 1912. From a wet market created by street
vendors by the early 17th century, Ben Thanh has
experienced many ups and downs throughout it’s history,
and is now the oldest surviving market and one of symbols of Ho Chi Minh city. Ben
Thanh is well-known as the place for real Vietnamese food.
Transportation
After a major renovation in early 2000s, Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat
International Airport is currently the largest in terms of area and capacity airport in
Vietnam. It is located 6 km north of the center (District 1) of Ho Chi Minh City. There
are several options for getting a taxi from the airport to the city center.
70
Main taxi queue. The main taxi queue is on your
left when you exit through the main door on the
ground floor of the terminal building. When you
get in the car, ask the driver to turn the meter on.
Mai Linh Taxi, Airport Taxi and Saigon Taxi are
among the most popular and reliable companies.
Other pre-paid taxi counters at the airport.
There are also quite a few other counters after
clearing customs, though still within the airport
building, where they sell prepaid taxi vouchers.
Source: http://www.eng.hochiminhcity.gov.vn; https://www.alotrip.com; http://vovworld.vn; http://www.saigontoursvietnam.com; https://www.vietnamonline.com; https://www.hochiminhcityairport.com
71
INDEX II: ORGANISING INSTITUTIONS
DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM
The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam was
established in accordance with Decision
82/2008/QD-TTg dated 23 June 2008 by
the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic
of Viet Nam on the basis of upgrading the
Institute for International Relations
(successor of the College for Foreign Affairs
established in 1959). The Academy carries
out strategic research in international
relations and foreign policies;
undergraduate and graduate training and
retraining of Foreign Service personnel;
serves as ―think tank‖ in foreign policy for
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Party and the State.
Honours: First - Class Labour Order (1994)
Third - Class Independence Order (1999)
Second - Class Independence Order (2004)
Ho Chi Minh Order (2009)
Human Resources
The Academy has 211 researchers, faculty members and staff and is expected to
have 350 personnel when it is in full service. The majority of researchers and
faculty members hold master or doctor degrees and has received overseas
training. Among them are 11 associate professors, 19 doctors, 59 masters
currently lecturing and conducting research in international politics,
international law, international economics, foreign languages, and media and
cross-culture communication.
Training
The Academy offers training at undergraduate and graduate levels in
international relations, international law, international economics, foreign
languages, and media and cross-culture communication. Each year, the Academy
takes in 60 graduate and 450 undergraduate students in six disciplines of
International Relations, International Law, International Economics,
72
International Communication, English and French; 100 college students and 150
on-the-job students. Different training units form an establishment similar to a
university with its own faculties and departments.
The Academy has cooperated with overseas universities to offer joint courses,
invited foreign trainers to teach foreign languages and European studies and US
foreign policies etc. By 2010, the Academy has trained 5000 students for 37
formal university enrolments, 2500 students in 23 secondary enrolments, 369
students in 10 master enrolments and 10 students in 1 doctor enrolment. It has
also held 12 on-the-job and 5 second-degree training enrolments.
Research
The Academy carries out strategic research and forecasts on world affairs,
international relations, political and economic affairs, security, national defense,
law, culture and foreign policies of different nations and regions. The Academy
serves as “Think Tank” for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Party and the State
in foreign policies as well as history and theories of international relations.
Besides, it serves as the coordinator in the management of research projects of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has carried out 250 studies in international
relations at both state and grassroots levels. In the organizational set up of the
Academy, the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies is an affiliate of the
Academy and has three centers, namely the Center for Political and Security
Studies, the Centre for Development and Economic Integration and the Centre for
Regional and Foreign Policy Studies.
On September 1st, 2012, the Centre for East Sea Studies, originally belonged to the
Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies, was upgraded to the Bien Dong
Institute. The institute has four centers: Center for Policy Studies, Center for
Research and International Cooperation, Center for Legal Studies and Center for
Information and Documentation.
International Cooperation
The Academy is an active member of many regional and world research networks
such as ASEAN-ISIS, NEAS, NEAT, and CSCAP etc. Researchers and faculty
members of the Academy regularly attend international colloquiums, seminars
and conferences held overseas. Every year, the Academy hosts 60 groups of
scholars, international politicians for 60 international seminars. The Department
of External Cooperation within the Office of Administration of the Academy acts
as the focal point for all cooperation in training, academic research and scholar
exchange with overseas universities, academies, institutes, research centers,
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
In-service training
The Centre for Continuing Education carries out training and convenes
refreshment courses in international relations, foreign policy, diplomatic studies
and foreign languages for mid-level officials, public servants and employees in the
73
diplomatic service as well as other officials engaged in diplomatic activities from
various ministries, agencies and localities.
Information and Documentation
The Centre for Information and Documentation archives and provides
information relating to Vietnam’s foreign policy, strategies, political, economic
and security situation of regions and countries as well as international
organizations. It also seeks to further develop information resources for use in
Viet Nam and overseas. It has at its disposal 35.000 books and document titles in
service of teaching and research of the Academy and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
MISSIONS
Decision 82/QD-TTg dated June 23, 2008 by the Prime Minister of the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam defined the status and functions, duties and powers of the
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam as follows:
Status and functions
1. The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam is an income-generating administrative unit
under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, established on the basis of upgrading the
Institute for International Relations.
2. The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam has the functions of undertaking strategic
studies in international relations and foreign policies, undergraduate and
postgraduate training and training of mid-career officials.
3. The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam with its headquarters in Hanoi, is a juridical
personality, uses the seals with the national emblem, and has its own bank
account as provided for by the law.
Duties and powers
1. Scientific research:
a) To study, synthesize and carry strategic forecast of the world situation,
international relations, political, security, defense, economic, legal, cultural and
foreign policy issues of countries and territories, to advise the Minister of Foreign
Affairs in the formulation, planning and implementation of the foreign policy of
the State;
b) To research and develop theories of international relations of Viet Nam on the
basis of the Vietnamese diplomatic history, and theories of international
relations;
c) To cooperate in academic exchange with universities, academies, research
centers and intergovernmental non-governmental organizations in the country
and abroad in accordance with its functions and tasks;
d) Act as the focal point in the organization and management of scientific research
activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
74
2. Training and mid-career refreshment:
a) Train human resources at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in international
relations, international law, international economics, foreign languages and other
subjects in accordance with the law;
b) Undertake training and organize mid-career refreshment courses in international
relations, foreign policy, diplomatic skills, foreign languages for leaders,
managers of ministries, provincial departments, officials, public employees in the
foreign service, officials working at external relations departments of different
ministries and localities; carrying out examination in professional diplomatic
skills, foreign languages of relevant officials in accordance with regulations and
assigned authority;
c) Undertake joint training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, cooperative
mid-career training in professional diplomatic training and foreign language
studies with local or foreign institutes and organizations.
3. Edit and publish scientific works, studies, textbooks, teaching materials and other
publications on external affairs, diplomatic history of Viet Nam and the world,
international relations and other related fields.
4. Participate in the dissemination of foreign policies and lines of the State.
5. Manage officials, employees, facilities of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in
accordance with provisions of the law and decentralization of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
6. Perform other duties as assigned or authorized by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
CONTACTS
DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM
Address: 69 Chua Lang Street,
Dong Da, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Telephone number: (84-4) 3834 4540
Fax number: (84-4) 3834 3543
Email: [email protected]
75
FOUNDATION FOR EAST SEA STUDIES
Founded in 2014 by the Diplomatic Academy of
Vietnam, H.E. Le Cong Phung former Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, H.E. Nguyen
Duc Hung former Vietnamese Ambassador to
Canada and Singapore, the Foundation for East Sea
Studies (FESS) is a non-governmental, non-
profitable organization which aims at promoting
studies on East Sea issues to maintain peace,
stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region.
MISSIONS
The foundation plays as a channel to seek, gather and develop individual who has
good ability and dignity to assist the East Sea studies; to disseminate, propagate
and raising awareness of people in defending national maritime sovereignty in
accordance with the orientation, policy and law of the Party and the State.
- To assist the East Sea studies of students, scholars, institutes as well as
individuals and organizations with regards to sustain peace, stability and co-
operation in the East Sea.
- To nurture and honour students and junior researchers, to supplement human
resources that major in the East Sea studies to the Vietnamese offices and
organizations.
- To call for sponsors from internal and external individuals, entrepreneurs in
order to support the foundation’s purposes.
- To develop the relationship with other international foundations, institutes as
well as individuals and organization to support foundation’s purposes.
- To partner with Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) and other organisations
both inside and outside the country to promote East Sea studies.
MAIN ACTIVITIES
1. Conducting and Supporting Research
- Conducting research on various issues about East Sea.
- Conducting researches of East Sea issues upon proposals and requests of the
government, governmental agencies and provincial authorities.
- Requesting and cooperating with national and international institutions and/or
experts to conduct research on the East Sea issues.
- Supporting students, scholar as well as institutions in doing East Sea research to
maintain peace and stability in the East Sea for national development.
76
2. Research Field Specialises in Various Issues
- Sovereignty issues.
- Settling disputes; maintaining and promoting international cooperation in the
East Sea.
- Planning and promoting maritime economy; developing marine resources and
protecting marine environment.
- Education and Training on territorial maritime issues.
- Policy and cooperative mechanisms of effective administration and development
of maritime resources
3. Nurturing and Promoting Talents
- Organising training courses to advance knowledge and skills of staffs working on
the boundary and maritime issues from ministries as well as provincial
authorities (available upon request).
- Providing information and training for reporters and the press regarding the East
Sea issues (available upon request).
- Selecting and training young talents to conduct research on East Sea with the
mean of preserving human resources working on this field.
4. Hosting Conference, Workshop and Talk on East Sea Issues
- Hosting international workshops on East Sea inside and outside the country.
- Hosting conferences, workshops and talks to lay the floor for discussion and
information exchange of experts/scholars with the objectives of proposing
recommendations for decision making bodies.
- Coordinating with local conferences working on disseminating information to
diverse audiences in the country about upholding national right over islands in
the East Sea.
5. Organising Annual Award for East Sea Study
- Organising competitions and examining theses & research papers relating to the
East Sea among students, master and doctoral students.
- Awarding Research Excellence Prize to scholars with outstanding researches on
the East Sea.
- Awarding FESS Annual Press Prize to journalists writing outstanding articles
about the East Sea.
6. Publishing and Providing Information for National and International
Audiences
- Providing and updating information about the situation in the East Sea, the
Vietnam’s work on upholding national right, politic and diplomatic operation, as
well as many others relating issues.
77
- Publishing researched documents, articles, books of the East Sea.
- Supporting scholars on publishing their researches including books and journals
about the East Sea in the country and abroad.
CONTACTS
FOUNDATION FOR EAST SEA STUDIES
Address: 69 Chua Lang Street,
Dong Da, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Telephone number: (84-4) 6276 3141
Fax number: (84-4) 3834 3543
Website: www.fess.vn
Email: [email protected]
78
THE VIETNAM LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATION
The Vietnam Lawyers’ Association is a professional
socio – political, united organization gathering the
voluntary lawyers throughout the country.
The Vietnam Lawyers’ Association is member of the
Viet Nam Fatherland Front under the leadership of
the Viet Nam Communist Party and the management
of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The Vietnam Lawyers’ Association participates in
the international lawyers organizations whose
activities conform to its motto and objectives.
Motto and objectives
The Vietnam Lawyers’ Association widely unites, gathers the Vietnamese lawyers
who have done or are doing legal work in the offices of the State, the political
organization, the socio – political organization, the professional socio – political
organization, the social organization, the economic organization, the cultural
organization, the educational organization, the people’s armed forces, who
volunteer to act for the cause of building and defending their Fatherland, for the
defence of the people’s right to freedom and democracy, contributing to building
a legal science and the Viet Nam socialist state governed by law with the
objective: the people be rich, the country be powerful the society be equal,
democratic and civilized.
The Vietnam Lawyers’ Association broadens its friendly relation and co-operation
with the lawyer’s organizations in the world and other organizations under the
principle of mutual respect of each others’ independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity for the common sake – peace, co – operation and
development.
Legal status of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association
Pursuant to the current laws and regulations as well as its Statutes, the legal
status of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association is well defined. Pursuant to Article 1
of the Decree No 88/2003/ND-CP, the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association shall be one
of organizations falling within the scope of application of this Decree. Therefore,
the legal status of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association shall be defined by the Law
No 102/SL/L1004, the Decree No 88/2003/ND-CP, and its Statutes which was
drafted and issued in conformity with the two above legal documents. It is noted
that the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association, as defined in its Statutes is a professional
socio – political organization which conforms to the classification in Article 104 of
the Decree No 88/2003/ND-CP. It means that the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association
shall bear legal status as a legal entity.
79
In accordance with the Viet Nam Communist Party’s guidelines and policies on
enhancing the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association’s role and activities as well as the
Decree No 88/2003/ND-CP, in its Congress in 2004, the Vietnam Lawyers’
Association passed its new Statutes which then was approved by the Ministry of
Internal Affairs in the Decision No. 37/2004/AD-BNV of 19 May 2004. The
Statutes clearly identifies the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association as a professional
socio – political organization. This legal status shall create favourable conditions
for the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association to facilitate its activities and enhance its
role. As a professional socio – political organization, the Vietnam Lawyers’
Association can widely unties and gathers many Vietnamese lawyers who work in
different fields, in the offices of the State and social organizations as well as from
different sectors of the economy. Scope of activities and the roles of the Vietnam
Lawyers’ Association, therefore, shall be legally broadened.
Tasks, power and duties of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association
1. To gather in its association those who have been or are being engaged in legal
work according to the provision of Article 1 of the Statutes. To build and make it a
steady and strong association politically, morally, organizationally and
professionally;
2. To take part in the law making, to study legal science, to take part in the
supervision of the law application; propose to the state organs on the problem to
elaborate and carry out the law;
3. To take part in propagating, disseminating and training the law, to raise the sense
of exercising the law to the Association’s members, cadres, government
employees and the people;
4. To act as consultants of the law, help the poor people and those privileged by
policy in legal matters free of charge, build the legal consultant organizations as
defined by law;
5. To take part in some State management activities as defined by law;
6. To coordinate various activities and carry out the task of a member of the
Vietnam Fatherland Front;
7. To take part in the legal and political activities in service of the political, economic
and social tasks, maintain political security, social order and safety;
8. To report to the Party and the State the sentiment and aspiration of the legal
community; to train members of the Association to enhance their legal knowledge
and professional morals; to lit up their spirit and take care of their interests in
order to keep them closed to the Association;
9. To publish and distribute books, magazines, newspapers on law, meeting the
needs for the Association’s internal and external activities;
10. To take part in the international activities conforming to the Association’s motto
and objective;
80
11. To persuade the Vietnamese people living abroad to contribute their part to
national construction.
Members of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association
The number of members of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association has been rapidly
increased in recent years. From 2005 to the beginning of 2008, the number of
members increased from 31,000 to 36,000 members who work in legal field such
as judges, prosecutors, policemen, legal experts and lawyers.
Structure and organization of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association
The Vietnam Lawyers’ Association is organized from the central to the grassroots
level, which comprises:
- The Central Committee of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association;
- The Association’s provincial and city bodies directly affiliated to the Association’s
Central body
- Association’s district, quarter, city bodies directly affiliated to the Lawyers
Association at provincial level;
- Lawyers’ associations at base level
81