Summary
This book is the compilation of papers presented to the second international workshop themed “The South China Sea: Cooperation for Regional Security and Development”, coorganized by Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and Vietnam Lawyers Association, from 11th to 12th November 2010 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Following the success of the first one held in Hanoi, Vietnam, this workshop continued to highlight the strategic role of the South China Sea in this changing world, along with noteworthy developments in this area and their impact on regional security and prosperity. The participants also discussed legal issues of the maritime and territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the dispute settlement processes, confidence building and possible measures to foster regional cooperation. This body of work represents remarkable the collective accomplishment of many local and foreign distinguished scholars and experts who attended the workshop.
The South China Sea has long been considered as an area of significant economic, political and strategic interests, naturally blessed with many crucial sea lanes and abundant maritime resources. The importance of the South China Sea has been underlined bytoday’s integration and globalization to reach a level of attention and concern that can be considered global. However, there have been emerging signs of regional instability that could deteriorate the ongoing tensions in the East Asia. Indeed, the recent years not only witnessed the persistence of the latent hostility caused by territorial disputes but also a number of rising controversies over maritime security, and exploration and exploitation of maritime resources. Many of those issues have been discussed openly at meetings within ASEAN and between ASEAN and its dialogue partners, as well as during the meetings of the defense officials from East Asian countries, especially the Shangri-La Dialogue, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
 
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