Seminar on PCA’s East Sea ruling held in Moscow
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In his opening speech, Dmitry Mosyakov, Director of the Centre for Southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania of the Institute, said the situation in the East Sea has not become more complicated following the PCA’s July 12 ruling, adding that the involved parties, including China, support negotiations for a compromise. Russia has continuously called on the relevant parties to address disputes peacefully and without use or threat to use force, he said.
Meanwhile, Grigory Lokshin, Secretary General of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna (Austria) under the Academy, reaffirmed the PCA’s ruling states that China has no legal basis to claim the “historic right” over the so-called “nine-dash line” in the East Sea.
Therefore, the country cannot claim an exclusive economic zone in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago. Participants agreed that the PCA’s ruling has had more positive impacts on the situation in the East Sea than previous predictions.
They agreed that the ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands on July 12, confirms China’s sovereignty declaration in the East Sea has no legal foundation. Secretary General of the International Institute for Peace Grigory Lokshin, an expert from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Far Eastern Studies, said the ruling is the clearest explanation for regulations under the UN 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The PCA’s decision has become a prerequisite condition and laid down a legal foundation for the regional involved parties to push ahead with dialogues and cooperation in the coming time, he added. The ruling provides extra legal power for countries in the East Sea to forge ahead with bilateral and multilateral negotiations, which, he said, are the only legal path to regional peace and stability.
Participants suggested the involved parties seek measures to address disputes peacefully and without use or threat to use forces and in line with international law, especially the UNCLOS 1992. They agreed that any disputes in the East Sea are unbeneficial for Russia as both Vietnam and China are strategic partners of Russia.
Ancient maps of Vietnam, France, China and other countries were screened during the workshop, which show China has no historical evidence supporting its sovereignty claims in the East Sea and reaffirm Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos belong to Vietnam.
