Expert says South China Sea compromise possible

MANILA-While the South China Sea is an arena of escalating conflict, it is not too late to work out some compromise amongst all claimants. 

According to Shen Dingli of Fudan University in Shanghai, China needs to understand its historical rights in the South China Sea may not include permanent fishing rights in the entire area, and that this is especially the case since the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) came into being.

In the same vein, China’s neighbors need to understand that by explicitly or implicitly accepting China’s pervasive sovereignty claim over all features and adjacent area, their occupation of some of the features in the South China Sea also leaves them in a legally vulnerable position. Simply insisting on one’s own rights even when they cut across the rights of others, and simultaneously accusing China of economic encroachment, will not work. A sound pragmatic solution is to find common ground with China, so a mutually acceptable trade of interests can eventually be peacefully figured out.

Shen will speak at a roundtable discussion organized by the Angara Centre for Law and Economics titled "What Is to Be Done? Resolving Maritime Disputes in Southeast Asia" on December 5 at the Marriott Hotel, Resorts World Manila. The event is sponsored by Asia United Bank.

The event will be keynoted by former Senator Edgardo J. Angara, the longest serving Senator in the post-EDSA Senate and who recently concluded over two decades of distinguished service as a Philippine legislator. He led the passage of landmark laws on agriculture, education, health, arts and culture, science and technology, good governance, financial reforms, and social welfare.

A former UP President, Angara also spearheaded the creation of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (UP-IMLOS), a highly specialized academic research institution based in the UP Law Center devoted to maritime affairs.

Other featured speakers include Donald Emmerson of Stanford University, Ian Storey of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, Yoichiro Sato of the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan, and Professor Harry Roque of the University of the Philippines.

The forum and roundtable discussions will be moderated by Prof. John Nye of George Mason University, Executive Director of the Angara Centre.