By Ding Duo

The 4th Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance was held in Sanya, China's southern Hainan Province, from October 8 to 9. Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, delivered a video address at the opening ceremony advising on sticking to dialogues and consultations and more issues. Among them, China's insistence on resolving legacy maritime disputes through friendly consultations between parties directly concerned, and on resisting bloc confrontation and zero-sum gaming at the sea have garnered particular attention from the international media.

The South China Sea issue essentially involves certain territorial and maritime disputes left over by history but was largely entangled in the geopolitical competition between major powers. It is widely known that as one of the most important and busiest waters globally at present, the South China Sea is densely populated with ship traffic, where 50% of the world's merchant ships and 1/3 of the sea trades pass through. For more than two decades, the mechanism-based arrangements between China and ASEAN countries under the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) have yielded rich results in maritime governance and cooperation in the area and also created broad diplomatic space for China and countries concerned to effectively manage differences and properly handle the South China Sea issue.

No matter how the regional situations change, normal navigations relevant to international commercial trade in the South China Sea have never been hindered by the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries. Through the DOC, they reaffirm the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, continue to deepen mutual trust through dialogues and cooperation and reach a consensus that countries concerned in disputes resolve their differences through direct negotiations and consultations. Over more than 20 years, the South China Sea has not witnessed any military conflicts or emerging blatant island or reef occupations from other concerned countries, and the potential escalation of disputes has been effectively contained. These are not only important outcomes of China's commitment to safeguarding all justified rights and interests in the South China Sea and regional peace and stability, but also a concrete manifestation of the practical implementation of the DOC by all parties and their exercise of relative restraint.

In recent years, the external factors that impact the situations in the South China Sea are relatively clear to us all, mainly concerning the intervention of extraterritorial forces represented by the US, and the Cold War mentality and geopolitical paranoia that persistently cast a shadow of confrontation over the order in the South China Sea. All the more, individual parties concerned with disputes should recognize that the stability and cooperative conditions in the South China Sea collectively built by the regional countries have not come easily. Only by effective, thorough and faithful implementations of the DOC on all fronts can political trust continue to accumulate and regional peace and stability be guaranteed.

It cannot be denied that intensified provocative US military operations in the South China Sea and other waters around China have increased the probabilities of incidents between the air and sea forces of the two sides. Their differences and contradictions on the sea are the epitome of a lack of strategic mutual trust between the two countries and are also the most risky catalysts to spark accidental conflicts and close combats for them.

The Asia Pacific stands out as an area with the closest intermingling of interests and the highest frequency of interactions between China and the US. In the long run, managing crises and avoiding misjudgment and conflicts are still the common objectives of these two major powers. One issue that cannot be ignored and must be solved is how to deal with the relationship between the military alliance system formed by the US during the Cold War and the maritime security pattern and complex security needs in the Asia-Pacific. To put it simply, it is how to establish an inclusive mechanism and arrangement that accommodates the legitimate and rational security concerns of relevant countries under the new circumstances. The core lies in the US' correct recognition and acceptance of China and its justifiable rights, interests and reasonable claims.

At present, there are signs of positive momentum in the bilateral relationship between China and the US. The first round of maritime affairs consultation between the two sides was recently held in Beijing when they stressed the need to strengthen dialogues and communication, manage the situation at sea, avoid false interpretations and judgments and explore mutually beneficial cooperation. Both countries are major powers that have significant impacts on the global maritime governance system and pattern, thus the proper handling of the maritime governance issue may serve as a stabilizing factor and a buffering mechanism for their bilateral relations.

(The author is deputy director of the Research Center of Oceans Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea)

Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.