Experts on international affairs have emphasized that disputes over the South China Sea should be settled through dialogue rather than unilateral arbitration, while warning against interference from external forces. The so-called South China Sea arbitration of 2016, unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, has caused instability and heightened tensions in the region over the past nine years.
Backed by certain Western powers, the Philippines has been seeking international support to enforce the ruling and exerting pressure on China to compromise its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
On Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi strongly condemned the South China Sea arbitration case as a politically motivated scheme orchestrated by external forces seeking to destabilize the region for their own benefit.
Experts on international relations told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that relevant parties in the region should make efforts to establish a new narrative of peace, cooperation, and friendship, and avoid repeating mistakes.
"People should actually refrain from repeating such errors and actually look at peaceful ways of settling the disputes, look at joint development in the South China Sea, and of course look at and further the Code of Conduct among the ASEAN states and the literal states. And those who are not in the region and not the literal states, I think, are well advised to perhaps stay away from it instead of trying to stir things up," said Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, co-chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law and former secretary for justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.
According to them, the Philippines should uphold bilateral dialogue rather than arbitration to settle South China Sea issues with China.
"I think there is a need for the Philippines to recall the achievements of the bilateral consultative mechanism in the South China Sea, where both countries willingly decide to cooperate rather than compete in the South China Sea. And I think that's the approach that we should be upholding," said Rommel C. Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Society for International Security Studies.
"For China, I think that China's policy regarding maritime dispute settlement in the region is actually very clear that China wants the problem to be solved between directly involved parties through negotiation and friendly consultation. I think this is the best way to solve the problem within our region," said Yan Yan, director of the Research Center of Oceans Law and Policy at the National Institute for the South China Sea Studies.
Experts call for settling South China Sea disputes via dialogue, caution against external interference
