South China Sea needs US-China ‘security talks mechanism' to prevent conflict: think tank
South China Sea to help prevent conflict in the contested waterway, a noted independent Chinese think tank has suggested.
According to analysts at the Beijing-based Grandview Institution, US-China aerial and maritime interactions in the South China Sea have been marked by confrontational, complex and unpredictable dynamics. However, competition in the strategic waterway was still 'manageable', though it was likely to be prolonged 'structurally', they said in a report published on Thursday.
The report, titled 'Competition and Risk Reduction on the South China Sea – Views from China and the United States', was prepared in collaboration with the Pacific Forum, a Hawaii-based foreign policy research institute.
Both
China and the United States recognised the risk of inadvertent escalation and had developed several crisis management tools, according to the executive summary of the report. 'However, implementation remains inconsistent,' it said.
Liu Xiaobo and Sophie Wushuang Yi, both researchers with Grandview, called on both sides to consider 'institutionalised' dialogue mechanisms focused on the regional security architecture, maritime legal order and law enforcement norms, and crisis response protocols.
Liu and Yi co-wrote one of the three papers making up the report. Jeffrey Ordaniel, a non-resident adjunct senior fellow and director of maritime programmes at the Pacific Forum, authored another, while the third was by Thomas Shattuck, another Pacific Forum non-resident fellow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
36 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Alarms ring in Taipei as Beijing activates another Taiwan Strait flight route
Beijing's sudden activation of another civilian air route near the Taiwan Strait's unofficial median line has renewed alarm in Taipei, with defence experts and lawmakers warning the move could raise the risk of miscalculation in an already tense air corridor. Advertisement The mainland's Civil Aviation Administration activated the last of three branches off the M503 north-south flight path through the strait on Sunday. The M503 and its offshoots were established in 2015 to connect various cities along the mainland's east coast. Two of the branches were activated last year and the third, the W121, on Sunday. At its closest point, the M503 route lies just 4.2 nautical miles (7.8km) from the unofficial line dividing Taiwan and mainland China. The administration, which made the decision without consulting Taipei, said the 'technical adjustment [was meant] to alleviate air traffic pressure and improve safety'. Advertisement 'Previous changes to the route have improved the operation of cross-strait flights and further facilitated personnel exchanges across the Taiwan Strait,' the administration said.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Does Hong Kong's loan shark law proposal lack bite needed to tame debt collectors?
A proposal to tighten regulations over Hong Kong's notorious loan sharks is too narrowly focused and will not tackle the root problem of unruly debt collectors, according to lawmakers and legal experts. Advertisement The legislators and specialists criticised the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau's plan to set a cap on borrowing activity for low-income earners and impose stricter rules for loan 'referees', saying it failed to tackle the shadowy network of intermediaries who enabled predatory lending. The bureau is seeking public feedback between June and August over proposals to tie unsecured personal loans to a borrower's income, either through an aggregate loan cap or a debt servicing ratio. It has also floated the idea of banning the use of referees altogether to stop the widespread harassment of third parties. 'Harassment is against the law, but harassment happens every day,' lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun said. 'People wonder if there is lawlessness in Hong Kong.' At a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, the government said that the Companies Registry had received 725 complaints about money lenders in the past five years. Referrals to police were made in 509 of the cases, which authorities said showed the need for tougher regulation. Advertisement Last year, the registry received 214 complaints, conducted 561 inspections and issued 22 warning letters. These included 58 complaints involving domestic helpers, of which 18 directly concerned moneylenders harassing loan referees.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Netanyahu meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas discuss Gaza ceasefire
US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for White House talks on Monday, while Israeli officials held indirect negotiations with Hamas aimed at securing a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. Netanyahu's visit follows Trump's prediction, on the eve of their meeting, that such an agreement could be reached this week. Before heading to Washington, the right-wing Israeli leader said his discussions with Trump could help advance negotiations under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. It was Trump's third face-to-face encounter with Netanyahu since returning to office in January, and came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes. Trump then helped arrange a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war. Trump and his aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war. He said he also wants to discuss with Netanyahu the prospects for a 'permanent deal' with Iran, Israel's regional arch-foe.
