Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) hosted the 6th South China Sea Conference in Kuala Lumpur from October 4-5, 2017. Liu Xiaobo, Associate Research Fellow of the NISCSS, attended the conference and delivered a speech entitled "The Changing Geopolitics and its Impact on the Freedom of Navigation in South China Sea".

The theme of the 6th MIMA South China Sea Conference 2017 is “Forging a Shared Future in the South China Sea”, which aims to discuss South China Sea issues from various dimensions and to explore a comprehensive and sustainable approach to address these issues. The Conference had five sessions, covering topics such as geo-political changes and major powers in the South China Sea, ASEAN and the regional security order, maritime real estate and the sustainable development in the South China Sea, promoting regional prosperity, and a panel discussion on “charting a progressive agenda in the South China Sea”.

The conference brought together more than 100 participants, including scholars from various think tanks and universities, as well as officials from government agencies, the military and embassies, while there were speakers from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Seychelles.