On 25 July 2022 Prof Robert Beckman participated virtually in a Workshop in Beijing, China on the 20th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). The Workshop was organized by the Department of Boundary Affairs, MFA, China; the Wuhan University China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies (CIBOS); and the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Hainan (NISCSS).

Session I of the Workshop was on Recollections on the Historical Moment of the Signing of the DOC, and was chaired by HE Mme Fu Ying, Vice-Chairperson, Foreign Affairs Committee of China’s 13^th National People’s Congress.

Session II was on Implementation of the DOC: Achievements and Prospects, and was chaired by Mr Wang Shen, President of NISCSS, China.

Session III was on Consultations of the COC: Progress and the Way Forward”, and was chaired by Dr Kong Lingjie, Vice Dean, CIBOS.

Prof Beckman was one of 10 speakers in Session III. In his presentation he argued the COC should contain a “non-prejudice” clause similar to that in Article VII of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. He argued that such a clause would enable the parties to cooperate on matters of common interest without being seen as either acquiescing to or recognizing the legitimacy of the sovereignty and maritime claims of other States or as renouncing or giving up their own sovereignty claims and maritime claims in the South China Sea.