On 7 December 2018, the 5th China-ROK Maritime Cooperation Forum, co-organized by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) and Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK).

The forum brought together more than 40 scholars and officials from various ocean-related agencies, think tanks and universities of both China and ROK, including the NISCSS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, Nanjing University, KIMS, ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agency for Defense Development of ROK Ministry of National Defense, ROK Navy, Korea Maritime Institute, Seoul University, Jeju Research Institute, and Korea Institute of Science and Technology. The agenda of the forum covered a series of topics of mutual concern, such as maritime security and order in East Asia, cooperation on maritime economy in the context of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and institutionalized cooperation on ocean affairs. Kim Geon, Ambassador for International Security Affairs from the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Jeong Hoseob, former Chief of Naval Staff of ROK Navy were also present at the forum.

NISCSS President Wu Shicun delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. He pointed out that China-ROK relations are moving forward with frequent exchange of high-level visits, positive interactions, and steady progress in maritime cooperation and management of sensitive maritime issues.  Yet, various problems remain. For example, little achievement has been made in maritime boundary delimitation; effective maritime security cooperation and crisis management mechanisms prove to be lacking; and an institutionalized cooperative mechanism among governmental departments in maritime law enforcement is yet to be fully established. China and ROK should seize the positive trend in bilateral relations, and accelerate the pace of delimitation negotiations in the Yellow Sea, build up maritime crisis management mechanism and enhance the level of pragmatic cooperation on maritime security.

As an institutionalized mechanism under the cooperative framework between the NISCSS and KIMS launched in 2014, the China-ROK Maritime Cooperation Forum has been playing a positive role in enhancing policy interactions, maritime cooperation and the management of differences between the two countries.