China, ASEAN urged to revisit ‘02 South China Sea declaration

The ten-country ASEAN Law Association (ALA), speaking through its newly elected President, Lawyer Avelino V. Cruz at the 6th China-ASEAN Legal Forum on the Rule of Law, strongly urged both China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to revisit the 2002 “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the South China Sea” to promote peace and stability on the sea’s disputed islands.

The Forum was held November 17 t o18, 2015 at the Southwest University for Political Science & Law in Chongqing, China.

The ALA President prodded both China and the ASEAN to engage in legal cooperation and goodwill instead of adversarial or confrontational method such as arbitration.

There is an Adhoc arbitration filed in The Hague by the Philippines which however is ex-parte because China refused to recognize it.

“This means that promotion of peace and stability cannot be met through such tactics”, Cruz said.

He believes that the parties coming to the table even on mere declarations, such as the 2002 China/ASEAN Declaration, while “soft law” with non-binding language, could lead to mutually acceptable arrangements under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), to which ASEAN and China are signatories.

Cruz keynoted the conference on the principles of the Rule of Law before an audience attended by China and ASEAN representatives, namely: Mr. Zhang Mingqi, high-ranking member of the National People’s Congress of China and Vice President of the China Law Society; Mr. Fu Zitang, President, Southwest University for Political Science & Law; Mr. Gu Zhaomin of the China Law Society; Mr. Zhang Sujun, China Vice Minister of Justice; Dean Xiaojun Zhang of the University Law School, and distinguished representatives from Nanjing and other China Universities.

ASEAN and ALA participants included Atty. Regina Padilla Geraldez, ALA Secretary General and Senior Partner of Philippines’ ACCRA Law Office; Chief Justice Hatta Ali of Indonesia; Mr. Colin Ong, President of Arbitrators Society of Brunei; Mr. Chin Malin, Undersecretary of State from Cambodia; Mr. Witchai Angkanakul, Division President of the Thailand Supreme Court; Dr. Prof. Simmalovong, Vice President of the National University of Laos, Dr. Prof. Sam Bernal of the International Law Association and ALA Philippine National Committee; and other leaders of the Bar and Law Schools in ASEAN.

The ALA President reminded the audience that the Rule of law means “a Rule over the ruler and is a constraint on the sovereign power of a state such as China. Thus, Rule of law as a principle presupposes equal protection of law through an independent judiciary”.

At the end of the conference, a Memorandum of Understanding for legal research, exchange and cooperation was signed between the China ASEAN Legal Research Center and the ten-country ASEAN Law Association. The ALA, under the ASEAN Charter, is the only listed non-governmental organization for Law, and is actively promoting ASEAN integration at the launching of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on December 31, 2015.ALA held its 12th General Assembly in Manila last February, 2015.