Berlin (EAST SEA) Monday, November 4th, 2019 / 08:25 AM

Foreign scholars condemn China’s bullying behaviour in East Sea

China is engaged in a long-term and consistent campaign of coercing Southeast Asian countries to abandon their legitimate rights in the East Sea. China’s recent activities in the East Sea are contrary to international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982), according to international experts.

China’s recent activities in the East Sea are contrary to international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982), experts highlighted at a conference held at the Russian Academy of Justice (RGUP) on November 1.

At the conference (Photo: VNA)

The event drew the participation of many scientists, lecturers, post-graduate researchers and students from leading law schools in Russia.

In his presentation at the conference, Grigory Lokshin from the Centre for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Far Eastern Studies stressed China has systematically violated international laws by its illegal activities in the East Sea in the past decade.

He said China’s moves have turned the East Sea into a hot spot internationally, citing as examples its recent deployment of survey vessel group Haiyang Dizhi-8 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, test landing of planes on an airstrip illegal built on the Chu Thap (Riery Cross) reef in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, and militarisation of artificial features in the waters, among others.

Lokshin believed that China attempts to turn an area without disputes or overlapping claims in the East Sea into a disputed one, while hampering legal oil and gas activities of Vietnam and Russia in the waters. He affirmed that there is no legal basis for China to issue claims in those waters.

His view was shared by Dmitri Mosyakov, Director of the Centre for Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Oriental Studies, who emphasized the rule of law in the negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

All speakers affirmed that all parties should respect recognised international laws including the UNCLOS 1982 to which China is a signatory.

Meanwhile, over 50 experts from research institutes and universities in the Czech Republic gathered also at a recent workshop in Prague on resolving disputes in the East Sea.

In his speech, the main speaker at the event – Dr. Bill Hayton, senior expert of the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House of the UK, said that the dispute in the East Sea is a complex issue, not only involving China and ASEAN member countries that have claimed sovereignty in the sea, but also concerning geopolitical competition between big countries, especially the US and China.

The dispute in the East Sea is increasingly attracting the attention of the international community, including the European Union (EU), as this is an issue affecting the stability and development of the region, he said.

Hayton recalled that the EU issued a joint statement in late August, expressing its concern about recent unilateral actions that have increased tensions and harmed maritime security, threatened peace and development environment in the region.

He called on the EU to continue to pay more attention to the issue, and to help ASEAN countries involved in the sovereignty disputes in the East Sea to enhance their maritime security capabilities.

China has no evidence and legal basis to claim sovereignty over most of the East Sea under the “9-dash line” claims, he said, noting that China’s sovereignty claim goes contrary to international law as well as its own commitment to maintaining good relations with other countries in the region.

He stressed in the process of resolving disputes in the East Sea, one of the most important factors is evaluating evidence presented by claimant states, while claimant countries should promote negotiations, and commit to maintain the status quo.

Sharing Hayton’s opinion that China has no legal foundation to claim sovereignty under the “9-dash line” claim, Dr. Takashi Hosoda – a researcher of Asia-Pacific security at Charles University, the Czech Republic, expressed concern that current tension in the East Sea is threatening regional peace and security.

He emphasized that China’s unilateral activities have increased tensions in the sea, especially its violation of international law by sending the Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near the Tu Chinh reef in the last two months.

China must comply with international law and common value and standards, he said.

Dr. Richard Turcsanyi from Palacky Olomouc University also expressed concern about China’s activities to build and militarize artificial islands in the East Sea, causing negative impact on regional security.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency correspondent, Dr. Hayton said that the operation of China’s Haiyang Dizhi 8 with the escort of coast guard vessels inside Vietnam’s EEZ shows that China is using the strength of a great power to threaten and coerce countries in the region to give up their sovereignty and jurisdiction as well as their legitimate interests.

This is a violation of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982, he said./.

 

Aufrufe: 120

Related Posts