In Session 5 "The Role of Coast Guard in Enhancing Cooperation in the East Sea", scholars emphasized the importance of cooperation among coast guard forces in the region.

Upgrading the role and linkage of the coast guard

Most delegates expressed deep concern about "gray zone" activities and some unilateral activities of Chinese coast guard vessels in the East Sea recently.

In this context, opinions at the workshop all emphasized the importance of coast guard diplomacy. Accordingly, small and medium-sized countries should promote cooperation, interaction with each other, act consistently, and unite based on international law to create collective strength, including recommendations to institutionalize the ASEAN Coast Guard Forum.

Some opinions suggest that countries in the region need to unify standards for coast guard vessels, cooperate in sharing expertise in law enforcement at sea, protect safety, the marine environment and maintain order at sea, and improve the skills and professionalism of coast guard.

In addition, regional coast guards should cooperate in building maritime security capacity with major countries in and outside the region, and develop codes of conduct to control the behavior of coast guards.

EU and strategic interests in the South China Sea

Participating in the webinar, Ms. Paola Pampaloni, Acting Director General of the Asia and Pacific Department, EU External Action Service (EEAS), emphasized that for the EU, multilateralism is of great importance, in the context of increasing unilateralism and great power competition.

According to her, multilateralism continues to be the most effective tool in international relations, beneficial to all, so that countries can cooperate with each other to resolve disputes and achieve common goals. Multilateralism and international law cannot be separated; participating in multilateralism cannot be an "optional" process.

The EEAS official affirmed that the EU has vital strategic and economic interests linked to maritime security and the prosperity of the countries bordering the East Sea. Peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea play an essential role for the EU.

The EU strongly opposes any action that increases tensions and undermines the rules-based order. Ms. Pampaloni affirmed that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) is a "guiding light" and "compass" for the peaceful resolution of disputes in the region.

In addition, the EU supports the ASEAN-led negotiation process towards an effective, substantive and legally binding COC, in which the COC must respect the interests of third parties and be consistent with international law.

She said the EU always supports effective multilateralism and supports the principle of ASEAN centrality. The EU focuses on strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and its member countries, including Vietnam, in areas such as capacity building, enhancing maritime spatial awareness and enhancing maritime presence; through specific programs and projects.

Concerns about marine infrastructure security

The workshop also had a lively discussion in session 7 on "Essential Infrastructure: New Strategic Implications of Technology".

Many opinions say that every country, whether landlocked or not, depends on undersea infrastructure, including submarine cable systems to connect and transmit information and data.

Reliance on offshore infrastructure is growing as the world transitions to green energy. However, European, Middle Eastern and Asian waters, including the South China Sea, have all seen incidents of submarine cables or pipelines being disrupted.

Two major factors affecting the vulnerability of submarine cable systems are geopolitical tensions and the dominant role of a few large technology corporations in installing and operating submarine cable systems.

Additionally, some have suggested that the vulnerability of submarine cable networks stems from the fact that they are rigid, immovable infrastructure, coupled with their location on the seabed, which makes them difficult to monitor and time-consuming to troubleshoot. This makes the subsea infrastructure an easy target for attack and sabotage.

To address this issue, scholars recommend that countries should consider seabed infrastructure security as essential infrastructure, at a priority level equivalent to economic and defense security. And regional countries should cooperate to build, maintain and protect essential infrastructure at sea.

Voice of the next generation

In the final session, five speakers from the Young Leaders Program of the Conference from Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and the International Organization for Integrated Sustainable Management of the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) discussed the concerns of the younger generation in issues related to the East Sea; and shared some ideas and proposals to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous East Sea.

In addition to the region's long-standing concerns regarding maritime disputes between countries, especially actions to carry out claims that cause insecurity and maritime safety, young speakers warned that Southeast Asia in general and the East Sea in particular are facing other non-traditional threats such as climate change, rising sea levels, depletion of marine resources, and lack of clean energy.

Young speakers said that in order to achieve peace and stability in the East Sea, countries in the region must increase respect for international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS and the ruling of the Annex 7 Arbitral Tribunal in the East Sea case; soon complete the COC and especially strengthen cooperation with each other as well as with countries outside the region to jointly address issues of common concern such as developing clean energy, promoting marine scientific research, preventing rising sea levels, and protecting marine ecosystems.

In his closing speech, Dr. Nguyen Hung Son - Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Academy assessed that the workshop pointed out the great potential of the sea and ocean, and proposed many mechanisms and creative cooperation ideas to realize the potential of the sea.

According to him, the presence of young voices brings positive signs to the conference, and it is necessary to build a team of young experts and leaders in the region who are interested, knowledgeable, and have the habit of dialogue and cooperation.