https://www.scmp.com/rss/503392/feed Ding Duo is an associate research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS). His research interests include general theory of public international law, international law of the sea, and South China Sea issues. Ding obtained his Master's and PhD in Law from Yonsei University, Korea. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent Southeast Asian tour has put the South China Sea – a simmering cauldron of territorial and maritime disputes – back into focus. Amid joint statements brimming with diplomatic finesse, Beijing is sending a clear message: it seeks to manage tensions and not escalate them while keeping its strategic compass firmly pointed towards cooperation and regional stability. The statements – issued alongside Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur – emphasise peaceful dispute resolution,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3307310/beijings-approach-south-china-sea-tensions-reduce-now-resolve-later?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3307310/beijings-approach-south-china-sea-tensions-reduce-now-resolve-later?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent Southeast Asian tour has put the South China Sea – a simmering cauldron of territorial and maritime disputes – back into focus. Amid joint statements brimming with diplomatic finesse, Beijing is sending a clear message: it seeks to manage tensions and not escalate them while keeping its strategic compass firmly pointed towards cooperation and regional stability. The statements – issued alongside Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur – emphasise peaceful dispute resolution,... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3307405/xis-approach-south-china-sea-tensions-reduce-now-resolve-later?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3307405/xis-approach-south-china-sea-tensions-reduce-now-resolve-later?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 07:06:46 +0000 On April 9, Japan and the Philippines held their first “2+2” meeting of foreign and defence ministers in Tokyo. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, Japan and the Philippines expressed serious concerns over the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, while stressing the importance of peace and stability in the region and its maritime security. The statement said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) is a vital element for regional peace and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174100/south-china-sea-japan-should-not-play-disruptive-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174100/south-china-sea-japan-should-not-play-disruptive-role?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Apr 2022 23:30:22 +0000 The US State Department recently released a report on China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. It is the fourth such report since 1970, and the second on claims in the South China Sea since the Philippines initiated international arbitration against China over these claims in 2013. Unsurprisingly, this latest “Limits in the Seas” report provides an almost complete rejection of China’s claims. Even on the baselines of the Zhongsha Islands’ and Nansha Islands’ territorial waters, which the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3163624/south-china-sea-disputes-be-resolved-amicably-us-must-get-out-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3163624/south-china-sea-disputes-be-resolved-amicably-us-must-get-out-way?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jan 2022 00:45:18 +0000 Last week, Japan became the latest country to submit a diplomatic note to the United Nations on the South China Sea, rejecting China’s position that its drawing of territorial sea baselines around the islands and reefs it claims in the waters conforms to the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea and international law. A tribunal in The Hague had in 2016 ruled in a dispute brought forth by the Philippines against China that some maritime features in the South China Sea were “low tide elevations”... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3119064/japans-diplomatic-note-south-china-sea-shows-its-self-interest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3119064/japans-diplomatic-note-south-china-sea-shows-its-self-interest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jan 2021 04:00:13 +0000 When Chinese President Xi Jinping finally congratulated incoming US leader Joe Biden last month, he made clear that security concerns were uppermost in his mind. “We hope both countries uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” was how he began his statement. Xi’s words were not surprising, given the challenges facing US-China relations even under a new Biden administration. Ties between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated over issues... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3112866/south-china-sea-expect-more-same-us-president-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3112866/south-china-sea-expect-more-same-us-president-joe-biden?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Dec 2020 21:00:14 +0000 On July 13, the US State Department issued a tough statement on the South China Sea issue, denying China's claims. Then, on July 22, the United States ordered China to cease all operations at its consulate in Houston. China responded in kind and ordered the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu. These episodes illustrate the deteriorating relations between the two countries, which have led many scholars and commentators to worry about a “new cold war” between China and the US. Interestingly,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3095499/relations-beijing-sour-whats-behind-australias-tougher-stance-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3095499/relations-beijing-sour-whats-behind-australias-tougher-stance-south?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2020 01:45:08 +0000 Washington’s latest policy shift on the South China Sea is hardly surprising. Where it once used to be a neutral third party, it has in recent months begun taking steps to become an active supporter of several claimants. It is worthwhile noting that the United States is a non-claimant state and not a party to the territorial and maritime disputes between China and Southeast Asian countries Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei. US shift on South China Sea may help Asean’s quiet ‘lawfare’... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3093642/washingtons-double-standards-clear-it-wades-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3093642/washingtons-double-standards-clear-it-wades-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jul 2020 21:00:17 +0000 Over the past decade, the Philippines has viewed China as its biggest challenger in the contested South China Sea. But even as it shares a common rival in Beijing with other Southeast Asian claimant states, Manila has also sought to reject bids by its neighbours in the contested waterway. Earlier this month, the Philippines sent a diplomatic note urging the UN Secretary-General against considering Malaysia’s submission to partially expand its continental shelf – which refers to a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3075605/disputed-south-china-sea-asean-claimant-states-are-neither?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3075605/disputed-south-china-sea-asean-claimant-states-are-neither?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2020 23:00:10 +0000 Recently, Indonesia protested after it discovered Chinese fishing and coastguard vessels near its Natuna Islands, off the coast of Borneo – prompting China to say it had historic rights, including traditional fishing rights, near the Spratly Islands, which it claims despite competing assertions by nations including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. There is no territorial dispute between China and Indonesia, but the latter’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – the area extending 200 nautical... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3046073/china-and-indonesia-can-find-common-ground-over-shared?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3046073/china-and-indonesia-can-find-common-ground-over-shared?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jan 2020 10:03:08 +0000