India workshop seeks legal solution to East Sea imbroglio
The Society for Indian Ocean Studies (SIOS) held a workshop in New Delhi on October 3 to seek a legal and political solution to the complicated situation in the East Sea.
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Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh along with the embassy staff participated in the event.
SIOS Secretary General Baladas Ghoshal briefed participants of the general situation in the East Sea and particularly mentioned to the economic and strategic significance as well as tensions relating to China’s increasing militarisation and island construction in the East Sea.
Participants talked about the legality of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the crucial role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in restraining as well as settling disputes in the East Sea.
They hailed the historical ruling of the arbitration tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, which rejected China’s sovereignty and nine-dash line claims in the East Sea.
Experts agreed that the involved parties need to absolutely respect the ruling.
Some commented that ASEAN should show solidarity and common standpoint to address the issue to bring peace and stability for the region in the long term, while pushing negotiations to reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) to help ease tensions and ensure navigation, aviation and trade freedom in the area.
