Talking to Dantri/Dtinews reporter, Thomas Fingar, a Shorenstein APARC Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University said that it would be more prudent and likely to be more productive for Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries with claims in the South China Sea to focus more on international law, specifically the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and joint positions than on the actions of the United States and other more distant countries.
Dr. Thomas Fingar from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University
According to the US expert, the International Tribunal’s decision in the case brought by the Philippines was very clear and is authoritative. And although China may not accept this ruling that would not mean Vietnam and others should acquiesce to China’s position.
'I think Vietnam, other claimant states, and ASEAN as a whole should seize every opportunity to underline their respect for international law, a rules-based international order, and resolution of disputes through the mechanisms of international law,' he stressed. 'If, or to the extent that China continues to reject the tribunal’s decision, it is an outlier and its actions should be noted as inconsistent with its international commitments and its rhetoric proclaiming the type of world it seeks. China cares about face and it should be shamed when it misbehaves.'
Another expert at the university, Dr. Donald K. Emmerson, suggested that Vietnam put an aspect of the South China Sea dispute on the ASEAN agenda when taking over the chairmanship of the ASEAN next year.
Dr. Emmerson
'No single country should dominate and control the South China Sea,' Dr. Emmerson noted.
Both Fingar and Emmerson said that international law makes clear what is and is not acceptable behaviour and that action in international waters cannot be dictated by any nation.
Fingar also mentioned two further points to consider are the virtues of achieving a unified position of all non-Chinese claimants.
'Surely the ASEAN claimants could work out an agreement on who has sovereignty over which islets and put that agreement in the context of the tribunal’s decision affirming the limited rights associated with such claims and the priority status of continental shelf-based rights,' he said.
The US expert suggested that ASEAN countries should explicitly defer final resolution of sovereignty issues in order to seek immediate agreement on the management of fish stocks on which all states in the region, including China, depend.
'This is both a real and urgent issue and an opportunity for inclusive co-operation,' he stressed.
