From 15 to 16 November 2018, the 6th Asia Maritime Security Forum was held in Haikou. Co-organized by the NISCSS, China Institute of the University of Alberta and Institute for China-America Studies, the forum brought together more than 40 participants from China, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines, who are mainly scholars and experts from renowned marine research institutes and universities. NISCSS President Wu Shicun and Gordon Houlden, Director of China Institute of the University of Alberta, gave welcome remarks at the opening ceremony, and chaired the panel of “Reviewing Regional Maritime Security: Current Geopolitics and Beyond” and “Maritime Operations and the Law” respectively.

In his speech, President Wu briefly analyzed the current situation of the South China Sea and challenges to regional security cooperation. First of all, the military presence of extra-regional countries, such as the United States, has destabilized the security environment of the region. The continuous American interference in regional affairs has caught ASEAN countries in the dilemma of side choosing between China and the United States. Secondly, the negative impact of the U.S. “Indo-Pacific Strategy” on the security cooperation in the South China Sea has started to emerge. The increased military deployment, scope of military activities and level of military cooperation of the US and its allies in the South China Sea would certainly lead to a more complex and volatile regional security environment. Thirdly, non-traditional security cooperation in the South China Sea has been making little progress as a result of unabated heat of traditional security issues and absence of relevant cooperation mechanisms with binding force.

Faced with these challenges, Wu Shicun proposed that China should properly coordinate its relations with the U.S., ASEAN and other claimant states of the South China Sea; China also needs to handle appropriately the “three pairs of contradictions” referring to that between international and domestic affairs, between safeguarding rights and maintaining stability, and between major powers and surrounding countries; moreover, China shall fulfill the “three major tasks” which includes the follow-up construction of islands and reefs of the South China Sea, maritime cooperation and the consultation and negotiation of the code of conduct, so as to maintain regional stability and build up regional order. Besides, under the framework of the “Economic Cooperation Circle of the Greater South China Sea Region” and “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, China needs to further promote exchanges and cooperation with littoral countries of the South China Sea, in such fields as marine tourism, connectivity, ocean governance, as well as humanities and social affairs. In this way, mutual trust could be enhanced so as to create a favorable external environment for the settlement of South China Sea disputes and lasting stability in the region.

Launched in 2011 by the NISCSS and the China Institute of the University of Alberta, the annual Asia Maritime Security Forum has been held consecutively for six years, serving as an important institutionalized mechanism between the two sides. Themed “New Development of Oceans Law and Policy in Asia Pacific and the Arctic”, the forum of this year featured topics including regional maritime security, developments regarding the law of the sea, the intersection of maritime operations and international legal frameworks, and maritime cooperation with and beyond national jurisdiction, and put forward proposals on international cooperation with regard to maritime security and ocean governance in the Asia Pacific and Arctic.