Session VII

Dr. MARIE ANTONETTE JUINIO-MENEZ

Dr. Marie Antonette Juinio-Meñez is an Academician of the National Academy of Science & Technology of the Philippines, Professor and previous Director of the Marine Science Institute at the University of the Philippines. She is a marine ecologist and a coastal resources management specialist. She has various publications on marine invertebrate ecology, biophysical and genetic connectivity, fisheries management, sustainable mariculture and environmental governance. She has been involved in international and multisectoral dialogues and technical working groups on biodiversity conservation, marine scientific research in the South China Sea, and the UNCLOS sessions on biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ). She is engaged in efforts aligned with the development of a sustainable blue economy, and promotion of transdisciplinary research through the Sustainability Initiative in the Marginal Seas of South and East Asia (SIMSEA).

Dr. PETER T.HARRIS

Peter T. Harris is a dual citizen of USA and Australia and is a marine geoscientist with more than 30 years experience working in marine science and management. Peter was educated at the University of Washington, Seattle (BSc) and University of Wales, Swansea (PhD). He has been the leader/co-leader of over 30 research voyages and conducted research on the Great Barrier Reef, the Fly River Delta in Papua New Guinea and the geologic record of climate change in Antarctica. Peter has published over 120 peer-reviewed science papers and books including a recent book “Mysterious Ocean” published by Springer in 2020. Since 2014 Peter has been the Managing Director of GRID-Arendal, a foundation based in Norway established to assist the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), working particularly in developing countries to help solve their environmental problems.

SESSION VIII (Concluding Plenary 2):

STRENGTHENING FOUNDATION FOR PEACE AND RULES-BASED ORDER

Consultation over the COC by China and the ASEAN Member States: Progress, Key Issues, and the Way Forward

Prof. Kong Lingjie

The past three years witnessed substantial progress in the consultation over the COC by China and the ASEAN Member States. The Framework of the COC was adopted in 2017. A Single Draft Negotiating Text was arrived at in 2018. The First Reading was done in July 2019. The Second Reading is underway. An early conclusion of an effective and substantive COC has been a common goal for the eleven countries. A discussion of the legal aspects of three policy-centered issues is both timely and important: (a) the nature of the COC, (b) its scope of application, and (c) its relationship with the DOC. The paper illustrates how international law may help the negotiators to find proper ways to tackle these difficult issues, give them necessary room for compromises, and reach agreeable solutions on their own, based on a better understanding of the legal aspects of the relevant questions. Pending an eventual adoption of the COC, the good momentum and conducive environment for the consultation should be well maintained and further strengthened.

Dr. TA DINH THI

Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI)

DR. TA DINH THI is Director General of Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) of Viet Nam

Dr. Ta Dinh Thi’s recent positions in MONRE of Viet Nam:

• From March 2018 to present: Director General, Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

• From January 2011 to February 2018: Director, Department of Personnel and Organization, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

• From May 2010 to December 2010: Vice Chief of Office, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Mr. JAMES W. BORTON

James Borton, an independent environmental policy writer and former (Hong Kong-based) foreign correspondent for The Washington Times, contributes to Asia Sentinel, Asian Perspective, Asia Times, East Asia Forum, Geopolitical Monitor, Nikkei Asian Review, The South China Morning Post, Project Syndicate and World Politics Review. He has edited four books, The South China Sea: Challenges and Promises, Islands and Rocks in the South China Sea: Post Hague Ruling, The Art of Medicine in Metaphors and Venture Japan. He was a past National Endowment Humanities Fellow at Yale University and has been a non-resident fellow at the Washington, DC based Stimson Center and the US-Asia Institute. Currently, he is a non-resident fellow at Tufts University Science Diplomacy Center. He is presently at work on his latest book, Dispatches from the East Sea: The Search for Common Ground. He’s an avid sailor and waterman.