A seminar was held in Moscow, Russia on October 7, focusing on the situation in the East Sea following the recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands, on the Philippines’s lawsuit against China’s claims in the waters. 



The event, hosted by the Institute for Oriental Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences, saw the participation of about 30 experts, researchers and students on Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia from Russian universities. 

Participants discussed issues related to East Sea disputes and the significance of the PCA’s verdict for the dispute settlement. 

In his opening speech, Dmitry Mosyakov, Director of the Centre for Southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania of the Institute, said the situation in the East Sea has not become more complicated following the PCA’s July 12 ruling, adding that the involved parties, including China, support negotiations for a compromise. 

Russia has continuously called on the relevant parties to address disputes peacefully and without use or threat to use force, he said. 

Meanwhile, Grigory Lokshin, Secretary General of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna (Austria) under the Academy, reaffirmed the PCA’s ruling states that China has no legal basis to claim the “historic right” over the so-called “nine-dash line” in the East Sea. 

Therefore, the country cannot claim an exclusive economic zone in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago. 

Participants agreed that the PCA’s ruling has had more positive impacts on the situation in the East Sea than previous predictions.

VNA