The 16th South China Sea International Conference

The Conference was attended by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hai Binh, Alternate Member of the Central Committee of  the Communist Party of Vietnam, nearly 300 offline delegates and 250 online delegates. This Conference gathered nearly 50 speakers who are prestigious experts from 23 countries and international organizations, and 22 Ambassadors (many of whom directly moderated discussion sessions of the conference). Many reporters from domestic and foreign news agencies also attended in person and reported on the Conference.

Photo: Leaders of countries, senior officials, speakers and delegates attending the 16th South China Sea International Conference

New features of this year’s Conference

The Conference, with two keynote sessions and seven discussion sessions, brought many fruitful discussions and practical assessments of the South China Sea situation in relation to the world context, regional order, ASEAN centrality, the relevance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) after 30 years of implementation and other emerging issues in international relations (such as artificial intelligence or climate change).

The Organizing Committee continues to hold the Young Leaders Program (YLP) to look for the new faces of the next generation in South China Sea studies and dedicated a Special Session on “Next Generation Narratives on Maritime Security”. This is the first time that the YLP has been attended by delegates from Latin America (including Brazil and Chile).

On the sidelines of the main Conference, this year was also the first time that the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam had organized an ASEAN Roundtable to connect experts from Southeast Asian countries to discuss promoting substantive cooperation in regional disaster response.

Photo: Special Session on “Next Generation Narratives on Maritime Security”

Photo: ASEAN Roundtable on the sidelines of the main Conference

Key Statements

Photo: Dr. Pham Lan Dung - Acting President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam delivered opening speech at the 16th South China Sea International Conference

In her opening speech for the Conference, Dr. Pham Lan Dung - Acting President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said that the South China Sea remained a regional hotspot with many complex layers, not only revolving around territorial disputes and maritime claims. The disputing parties need to steadfastly pursue peaceful dispute management solutions, especially through diplomacy, despite a lot of time such process may require.

Photo: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet delivered the opening speech at the 16th South China Sea International Conference

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet assessed that the world was at a profound inflection point: the shift toward a multipolar word poses many uncertainties, which can lead to crisis if not properly managed; trust in established institutions and norms is gradually running in deficit, causing unilateral actions to prevail; competition between major countries is not only about territory - resources or economy - military areas but also in “the minds” - battle to dominate the visions to shape the future international system. Therefore, the DAV’s selection of the central theme “Navigating Narrative, Nurturing Norms” demonstrated its topicality in the above-mentioned international context.


Photo: Main discussion sessions at the Conference

Two keynote sessions took place with important speeches by Judge Horinouchi Hidehisa, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and leaders from many countries such as Ms. Catherine West, Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Foreign,
Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the UK; MP Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia; Mr. Scott Millar, Assistant Deputy Minister (Policy), Canadian Ministry of National Defence; Mr. Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, Director-General for
ASEAN Cooperation, SOM Leader of Indonesia; Mr. Niclas Kvarnström, Managing Director for Asia and Pacific, European External Action Service (EEAS). Through their keynote speeches, the officials all affirmed that the South China Sea and Pacific region were priorities of their respective countries, escalating actions should be condemned, and the rule of law (including UNCLOS) and ASEAN centrality needed to be respected. Some officials also addressed the narratives that could be misleading regarding their countries’ presence in the region.

Photo : Dr. Nguyen Hung Son, Vice President of the Diplomatic academy of Vietnam, delivered the closing remarks for the Conference

Wraping up the Conference, Dr. Nguyen Hung Son, Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, in his closing remarks, affirmed that in the context of shifting geopolitical dynamics, contrasting narratives and major power rivalry expanding to many domains, the international community still has many tools to help manage tensions, including diplomacy, international law and a common political commitment to peaceful cooperation. In this context, ASEAN needs to promote its own norms to help ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea in particular and the region in general.

Watch the entire 16th South China Sea International Conference via the SCSC website, Youtube, Facebook, and X (live-tweet with hashtag #SCSC16) here./.

Ngan Huong

Translated by ND

Revised by: HD

Photo: Pham Hang