,
73 tweets,
26 min read
Read on Twitter
EVENT THREAD: International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) 2019, jointly organised by the Republic of Singapore Navy, RSIS, and with support from Experia. 
RADM Lew Chuen Hong, Chief of RSN, at his opening remarks for #IMSC2019, highlighting the long history of use of the seas and oceans by mankind as a global commons. But he also opined that “shared spaces” within this domain also brought about friction between nation-states.
RADM Lew emphasised the origins and contemporary practice of UNCLOS as a framework of rules and norms for the international community to peacefully use the seas and oceans. #IMSC2019
Besides UNCLOS, RADM Lew also emphasised the importance of other instruments to build norms and rules for peaceful interactions between nation-states at sea, such as CUES. Building strategic trust is vital to sustain free and fair use of the seas, devoid of coercion. #IMSC2019
#IMSC2019 Session 1: Assessing the Current Rules-Based Maritime Order. Prof Tommy Koh (MFA SG), RADM Dr. Amarulla Octavian (TNI-AL Naval Command and Staff College) and CAPT (Ret) Tian Shichen (CICSCSS, Nanjing University), moderated by Amb Ong Keng Yong, EDC RSIS.
#IMSC2019 Prof Tommy Koh: legal chaos in 1950s and 1960s, and incidents at sea. But relative peace at sea in today’s era, attributed to clear, internationally recognised rules on the use of the seas, e.g. legal status of EEZ, passage regimes in the 1982 UNCLOS.
#IMSC2019 Prof Tommy Koh: UNCLOS has been widely accepted by countries big and small, including non-Parties such as the US as the modern law of the seas. He also listed some principal threats in the maritime domain.
#IMSC2019 Prof Tommy Koh: such threats include refusal by some nation-states to refer maritime disputes to compulsory dispute settlement, and resort to threat and use of force to assert their proclaimed rights at sea.
#IMSC2019 RADM Dr Octavian: Indonesia occupies a pivotal and strategic position, wedged in the intersection of Asia and Australia, and in between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Region is a complex maritime ecosystem. Increase in seaborne trade leads to marsec threats.
#IMSC2019 RADM Dr Octavian: Indonesia faces both traditional and non-traditional maritime security threats. The first primarily refers to SCS disputes, including threat of arms race, Great Power rivalries, which threaten peace and stability.
#IMSC2019 RADM Dr Octavian: Indonesia is not 1 of the SCS claimants but it has immense stakes in the region given its proximity. Always supports dialogue and ASEAN centrality.
#IMSC2019 RADM Dr Octavian: transnational crimes, IUU fishing as well as violent extremism constitute key non-traditional marsec threats. Not just afflict Indonesia but also the wider region. TNI-AL to host Multinational Naval Exercise Komodo next year to promote cooperation.
#IMSC2019 RADM Dr Octavian: regional maritime cooperation activities eg RIMPAC, ADMM+ helps the TNI-AL foster collaboration and build naval capabilities.
#IMSC2019 RADM Dr Octavian: Indonesia believes that maritime security is a collective effort. Indonesia’s interest in maintaining marsec is aligned with the vision of Global Maritime Fulcrum.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: FON in SCS - he asked: have we ever seen FON impeded in SCS since the early times?
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: causes of dispute over FON- 1) international law vs law of one particular state; 2) diplomatic talks vs third-party settlement; 3) warships vs merchant vessels - historically divided and diversified state practices pertaining to innocent passage.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: International law does allow countries to restrict innocent passage by warships in lawful manner.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: what does militarisation mean for the SCS? Up to your interpretation.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: doctrine of freedom of the seas should be interpreted by also embracing Asian values. Asian values were completely neglected during the past negotiations of UNCLOS and generally, international law.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: emphasis on embracing “Asian values”.
#IMSC2019: Prof Tommy Koh to CAPT (Ret) Tian: there’s no such thing as American international law or Chinese international law; there’s only 1 international law; UNCLOS should be upheld by international community. UNCLOS isn’t a Western product but reflects common aspiration.
#IMSC2019 Prof Koh: being a party to UNCLOS means having given consent to compulsory dispute settlement. Eg 2013 legal suit lodged by Manila against Beijing - there’s no need for Manila to seek Beijing’s consent to the arbitration on SCS.
#IMSC2019 Prof Koh corrects CAPT (Ret) Tian: there’s no distinction between merchant vessels and warships in exercising the right to innocent passage.
#IMSC2019 Prof Ian Chong Ja-ian from NUS to CAPT (Ret) Tian: how to square your advocacy for universal laws and call to embrace Asian values? What exactly constitute “Asian values”?
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: advocates universal application of international law, hence calling for universal, not unilateral, interpretation of international law.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: intentional leaving it “open” and “ambiguous way” in the UNCLOS text regarding innocent passage.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: “freedom of the seas” have been embraced as part of Asian values since the early times but back then, there was no legal framework to enable such freedoms.
#IMSC2019 Prof Koh: it’s not true that UNCLOS is ambiguous in distinction between merchant vessels and warships regarding innocent passage; negotiations in the run-up to UNCLOS did take this into consideration and parties concluded that it made no sense to draw that distinction.
#IMSC2019 Prof Koh: sad fact that countries interpret UNCLOS according to their own national interests, eg. “Island” if you claim that feature, “rock” if your neighbour claims it. EEZ only grants resource rights, high seas rules apply in EEZ but coastal states claim otherwise.
#IMSC2019 Prof Koh: coastal states have no rights to seek permission from other states to let warships pass through EEZ. When you turn a low-tide elevation into an artificial island, it doesn’t change the legal status of the feature and its maritime zone entitlements.
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Tian: does not agree with the term “artificial islands” - PRC has “garrisoned these islands for a long long time”. [my take: I don’t think the Chinese scholar responded properly to the comment 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️]
#IMSC2019 CAPT (Ret) Gurpreet Khurana: India started off on same weak footing as PRC when UNCLOS was being negotiated. But notwithstanding this “Asian value” advocacy, India acceded to arbitration with her neighbours on maritime disputes in Bay of Bengal nonetheless.
#IMSC2019 Session 2: Maintaining Peace in Our Maritime Commons, with VADM Michael Noonan (RAN), FADM Haji Othman bin Haji Suhaili (RBN), VADM Andreas Krause (German Navy), ADM Hiroshi Yamamura (JMSDF), moderated by Professor Geoffrey Till.
#IMSC2019 VADM Noonan: Global events stress the importance of rules-based order, not least in the Indo-Pacific maritime commons.
#IMSC2019 VADM Noonan: provocative acts undertaken by fishing boats backed by coastguards in the Indo-Pacific undermine maritime security and rules-based order.
#IMSC2019 VADM Noonan: Australia will continue to promote open and inclusive world order based on shared values.
#IMSC2019 FADM Haji Othman: Brunei relies heavily on access to seas for its economic well-being; 92% gas exports pass through SCS. Any SLOC disruption to have immense impact on Brunei.
#IMSC2019 FADM Haji Othman: Brunei estimated to have lost US$13 million annually to IUU fishing.
#IMSC2019 FADM Haji Othman: Brunei to continue joining ASEAN effort to implement the ASEAN Direct Communication Infrastructure (ADI) to prevent and mitigate undesirable incidents at sea.
#IMSC2019 VADM Krause: Germany’s well-being isn’t just confined to maintaining good order in adjacent maritime regions such as Baltic, but to ensure good order in the international maritime commons. Safe SLOCs worldwide, not least Asia, of vital interests to Germany.
#IMSC2019 VADM Krause: Germany emphasises common values and mutual trust in maritime domain, cooperation based on multilateralism and multi-sectoral forms of maritime governance. Unilateral interpretation of universal laws can lead to conflicts between nation-states.
#IMSC2019 VADM Krause: Information Fusion Centre in Singapore contributes significantly to promoting maritime domain awareness in the region. German Navy to deploy its first International Liaison Officer to IFC in 2020. Germany to be more involved in regional peace and stability.
#IMSC2019 ADM Yamamura: maritime security is a common challenge to all nations. Free and open Indo-Pacific is indispensable, can lead to global stability, security and prosperity.
#IMSC2019 ADM Yamamura: Indian Ocean as “ocean for maritime trade” - 90% oil bound for Japan passes through Indian Ocean.
#IMSC2019 ADM Yamamura: Japan to continue emphasising FOIP and common values such as rule of law, FON, economic prosperity; rejects coercion by nation-states to alter status quo.
#IMSC2019 VADM Noonan: countries which seek to blur the lines on the roles of coastguards are inviting confusion.
#IMSC2019 FADM Haji Othman: the blurring of lines in roles of coastguards constitutes a “grey matter”, end of day need to refer to political masters on how these forces are being employed.
#IMSC2019 Session 3: Strengthening Cooperation, Engendering Trust. RADM Torben Mikkelsen (RDN), RADM David Proctor (RNZN), VADM Robert Empredad (PH Navy), moderated by Professor Tan See Seng, RSIS.
#IMSC2019 RADM Mikkelsen: key to success is maritime cooperation - 1) interoperability; 2) Communication; 3) picture sharing; 4) releasability. Important to stick to rules at sea to avoid misunderstandings.
#IMSC2019 RADM Mikkelsen: Royal Danish Navy as a small navy needs optimised capabilities that are based on modularity, which also render flexibility, mobility and interoperability; RDN “probably the smartest navy in the world”.
#IMSC2019 RADM Proctor: Maritime domain is critical to survival and prosperity to New Zealand; seaborne trade accounts for approx 90% trade in terms of value.
#IMSC2019 RADM Proctor: increasing strategic competition and challenge to international norms, and climate change pose threats to maritime security. Link between climate change and interstate conflicts require more attention.
#IMSC2019 RADM Proctor: “we are all guardians of the maritime domain”. Need to understand cultural differences in the promotion of maritime security cooperation. Trust and confidence are built by working together for long, and understanding each other’s position.
#IMSC2019 RADM Proctor: need to emphasise “respect” and “compromise” without necessarily to agree with each other’s position in discussing issues of concern in the maritime domain.
#IMSC2019 VADM Empedrad: PH coastline over 36000km, 5th longest worldwide; borders 3 primary water bodies. Considers maritime interests to be of global scale, given its stakes eg being 1 of largest source of seafarers in the world.
#IMSC2019 VADM Empedrad: Besides PH Navy modernisation, to emphasise whole of nation approach through service interoperability, interagency coordination and multi-stakeholder cooperation.
#IMSC2019 VADM Empedrad: plans to replicate the model of Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) in the Sulu Sea to other regions in the PH archipelago where there are common maritime areas of interest with neighbours.
#IMSC2019 RADM Proctor: NZ signed FTA with Beijing and maintains long-standing defence links with the US, for example, but it works hard to maintain open discussions with all parties to promote better understanding of each other’s position.
#IMSC2019 Closing Session with ADM John Richardson (US Navy), moderated by Professor Geoffrey Till.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: Singapore, the US and many countries in the region bounded together by common and shared values to help foster peace, freedom and prosperity. The seas are pivotal to promoting prosperity for nations.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: continued prosperity for maritime nations depends on ceaseless effort of all; actions and words must be consistent to create “safe harbour” to promote mutual trust between countries. USN to continue challenge excessive maritime claims worldwide.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: ASEAN as a good example of multilateral, principled approach to managing regional affairs and contributing to peace, stability and prosperity.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: biggest obstacle faced by navies: much of what we are asked to do exceeds our capacity; need to prioritise in the context of not having sufficient capacity to do a range of missions.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: UNCLOS and other operational mechanisms such as CUES and INCSEA; can’t pick and choose parts of these instruments to suit one’s needs.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: FONOPs are conducted worldwide, aimed at consistently advocating rules-based order by challenging excessive maritime claims. Transit through Taiwan Strait, deemed international waters, shouldn’t be construed as provocative.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: rewarding years of cooperation between the US and Indian navies in terms of interoperability and collaboration can be a good metric for assessing the effectiveness of the Quad.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: UNCLOS constitutes the legal framework for USN activities in SCS, and operational arrangements such as CUES to promote safe operational interactions with other navies. Emphasis on consistency.
#IMSC2019 ADM Richardson: PRC’s growing maritime interests and seaward outreach mirror that of the US by the end of 1800s. Competition between PRC and US should be managed peacefully as a way forward for bilateral cooperation.
#IMSC2019 Amb Ong: “Convention”: UNCLOS remains the most important convention; necessary to make UNCLOS better given no new alternative in sight yet. Need for nation-states to “compromise”. “Courage” to adhere to the existing conventions, seek convergences and avoid conflict.
That’s all folks. I hope you found this thread on #IMSC2019 useful.
Follow up on #IMSC2019 with this latest ST report that captured the exchange between Prof Tommy Koh and CAPT (Ret) Tian Shichen: straitstimes.com/singapore/live…
