International Scholars Gathering for the 2016 International Symposium on Boundary and Ocean Studies

From September 24 to 25, “The 2016 International Symposium on Boundary and Ocean Studies" was successfully held in Wuhan University. Experts and scholars from the Central Foreign Affairs Office, the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia, Japan, South Korea and Canada gathered together for this two-day academic seminar on four topics: world war and postwar order, maritime disputes and cooperation, land boundary disputes and cooperation, and polar governance and cooperation.

More than 30 well-known experts and scholars conducted in-depth interdisciplinary discussion on the current international boundary disputes, disputes over maritime ownership, how to engage in win-win cooperation through communication, and how to use appropriately various dispute settlement mechanism and other related issues.

Experts believe that to settle border and maritime disputes, countries concerned should follow the principle of international law, focusing on bilateral cooperation so as to avoid unilateral actions and illegal demands. The international law of the sea must be developed with the times, which guarantees its vitality. Only through in-depth study of the historical roots of the disputes can we solve those disputes effectively. Countries should actively cooperate with each other, reaching consensus on maritime delimitation and promoting the theory of marine cooperation governance, in an effort to create an effective model of cooperative governance.