ASEAN to hold workshop on regional maritime cooperation
Delegates from Vietnam, Australia and the EU will co-chair a virtual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) workshop on maritime cooperation today.
The ARF, a security forum focused on the Indo-Pacific, has conducted two previous workshops on maritime cooperation since 2018. Reports on the workshop’s discussions reveal emphasis on strengthening interoperability in counter-narcotics and anti-piracy operations. Reports also prioritise developing diplomatic solutions to disagreements among forum participants.
Today’s meetings come amidst disputes between China and ASEAN states regarding authority over the East and South China Seas. The conflict has sparked increased US and European freedom of navigation operations through the contested international waters. Notably, today’s workshop coincides with month-long Chinese military exercises in the South China Sea.
Expect today’s deliberations to initiate an ASEAN-wide push for investment in law enforcement interoperability under a potential code of conduct for the South China Sea. Such a code would prioritise mitigating illicit trade, but would likely also respond to Chinese expansionism. In the medium-term, however, a resolution to current conflicts is unlikely. Despite ASEAN-China negotiations over a code of conduct, the parties’ interests are divergent. Expect China and its neighbours to remain assertive regarding their maritime claims while US and European operations maintain the principle of navigational freedom.
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