On 21 October 2016, the NISCSS and Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS) co-organized the Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Forum (2016) in Seoul.

The one-day forum included four panels, namely “The Assessments of Current Regional Maritime Security Environment”, “Maintaining Maritime Good Order at Sea and Building Bilateral Maritime Collaboration in Addressing Yellow Sea’ NTS Issues”, “Enhancing Maritime Scientific Cooperation between the Two Countries in the Yellow Sea”, “The Role of Institutional Cooperation Approach on Policy Interactions and Recommendations in Future Korea-China Maritime Cooperation”.

There were over fifty experts and scholars from bilateral maritime agencies and think tanks, including the NISCSS, Chinese Naval Research Institute of Military Science, Renmin University of China, Nanjing University, Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea Ministry of National Defense, ROK Navy Headquarters, the KIMS, Yonsei University, Korea National Defense University, Korea National Diplomatic Academy, Korea Institute for Defense, and Korea Maritime Institute.

NISCSS President Wu headed the Chinese delegation to attend the forum, delivered opening and closing remarks, and chaired panel discussions. During his keynote speech, Wu systematically analyzed the problems and challenges facing China-Korea maritime cooperation, and introduced the implications of security situation in Northeast Asia on China-Korea maritime cooperation. He put forward several suggestions, including keeping bilateral high-level exchanges, strengthening maritime policy coordination, bolstering exchanges between maritime law enforcement agencies, building crisis management mechanisms, exploring maritime security cooperation and steadily promoting maritime delimitation.  

This forum is an institutionalized part of the cooperation framework between the NISCSS and the KIMS. There have been three such forums since 2014. Amid profound readjustment of regional order and increasingly complex geopolitical situation in East Asia, this forum will play a positive role in strengthening think-tank exchanges and policy interactions, advancing maritime cooperation as well as properly handling bilateral maritime disputes.