Scholars from the Institute for China-America Studies participated in the fifth U.S.-China Track II Dialogue on Maritime Affairs & International Law in Cape Cod, Massachusetts on July 26-28, 2017.
The two sides met for a day and a half and all participants actively participated in candid and constructive discussions on legal, political and military aspects of China’s maritime disputes in the South and East China Seas. The issues these legal experts focused on included the present status and role of international law in dispute resolution, territorial sovereignty and joint development, the legal and strategic meaning of China’s land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea, maritime jurisdiction and institutionalized dispute resolution approaches as well as security issues in the East and South China Seas.
This dialogue allowed the participants to come to greater understanding of the motivations of the many players in this issue, providing insight that could inform Chinese and American official decision-making during this crucial period of uncertainty. Our participants agreed that the overall relationship between the United States and China has many areas of cooperation and even co-dependence. These should help serve as stabilizing forces if tensions in the maritime domain become too severe. Therefore, it is important for the United States and China to accept that the South China Sea will be a zone of overlapping strategic interests and to devise effective mechanisms to maintain stability between us despite this new aspect of competition in our relationship. Both sides felt the dialogue was significantly productive in advancing mutual understandings of the issues regarding maritime disputes, the U.S.-China relationship, and regional relations of current importance to both China and the United States.
The ICAS delegation was lead by Dr. Nong Hong.
