How to Prevent Conflict in the South China Sea

20 Jul 2023 | APLN

20 July 2023

This week, Collin Koh analyses the effectiveness of maritime confidence building and security measures in Southeast Asia and Feroz Hassan Khan highlights the importance of maintaining international norms against nuclear testing.

We also share the latest activities from our network, including an assessment of Pakistan’s new nuclear strategy, commentary on South Korea-China relations, India’s space program, US-China rivalry, and trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

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Confidence and Security Building Measures in Southeast Asia’s Maritime Domain

Collin Koh, Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, examines how confidence and security building measures can help shape good conduct in the Southeast Asian maritime domain.

The report analyses the effectiveness of three major CSBMs in the region: the Guidelines for Air Military Encounters (GAME), the proposed Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (CoC), and the Code on Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES).

Read the special report

Discuss the report on Twitter

The Maritime Incidents and Escalation in Asia-Pacific project is a joint project undertaken by APLN and VERTIC (the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre). The project is supported by the US Department of State.

The project seeks to identify the risks of dangerous maritime incidents in the Asia-Pacific; evaluate the suitability of existing bilateral and multilateral arrangements to current strategic realities in the Asia-Pacific; bring forward new proposals to fill important gaps; and help promote effective mechanism for managing and mitigating incidents and escalation at sea.

Read about the project

Delving into the impact of the 1945 Trinity test, Feroz Hassan Khan explores the efforts and challenges surrounding the ban on nuclear weapons testing, and underscores the need for renewed momentum and strengthened political will from the international community to facilitate the entry into force of the comprehensive test ban treaty.

Read the Korea Times column

APLN has over 130 members from 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.

See all member activities

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Pakistan’s New Nuclear Strategy Is a Crisis in the Making

Manpreet Sethi, APLN Senior Research Adviser, co-wrote a paper with Radm Sudarshan Shrikhande and Arun Sahgal, arguing that proposals to deploy front-line tactical nuclear weapons, on the assumption that India will not respond to their usage, are folly. Yet that is precisely what Pakistan’s military leadership is seemingly proposing.

[CHN] An Interview with Prof. Moon Chung-in

Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice Chair, was interviewed by The Paper. He talked about China-South Korea relations and emphasized that the Yoon administration should not sacrifice national interests for the sake of values.

With Chandrayaan-3 Launch, India Heads for the Moon

Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy, and Technology, wrote about India’s Chandrayaan-3 launch, arguing that the mission is a natural progression of India’s space program but also indicative of the growing space competition in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Contradictions, Convictions and Conundrums in the Asian Century

Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, delivered a speech at Caixin’s Asia New Vision Forum. He warned that the world should brace itself for significant “global turbulence” in the next decade, attributing it to the US-China rivalry, one of three structural conflicts disrupting the global order.

Responding to North Korea’s Nuclear Ambition: The Importance of US-Japan-ROK Cooperation

Eunjung Lim, Associate Professor at the Division of International Studies at Kongju National University, wrote on the importance of US-Japan-ROK cooperation and points out that at present, it is crucial to prioritise efforts in bringing North Korea back to the forefront of denuclearisation negotiations, while solidifying US-Japan-ROK cooperation so that extended deterrence can work.

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