Researchers' Activities

She delivered introductory remarks for Session 4 on “Non-Traditional Maritime Security Issues: Combating Piracy, Illegal Fishing and Human Trafficking,” focusing on the forced labor and trafficking aspects of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

21 September 2021: CIL Research Associate Dita Liliansa at RSIS Roundtable on Defining Maritime Security: Regional Divergence and Commonalities.

Prof Robert Beckman gave lectures to officers from the 20 contracting parties to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Countering Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

She spoke in the Second Session on “Advancing Maritime Security and Stability in Asia’s Maritime Commons.”

Research Fellow Amber Maggio participated in the UNODC Contact Group on the Sulu and Celebes Seas: Mapping and Responding to Global Maritime Crime, which was held in Manila, Philippines.

The meeting focussed on the recommendations from the previous contact group meeting in August 2018 and their implementation, particularly challenges, responses and the need for information sharing. In addition, the shipping industry and humanitarian organisations shared their perspectives on working with victims of maritime crimes and their families.

Dr Maggio participated in the operations working group, where the possibility of a maritime law enforcement cooperation (or agreement) was discussed.

Research Associate Dita Liliansa was invited to speak at the 6th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop on 18–22 February 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop gathered about 135 experts and monitoring, control and surveillance practitioners from around 37 countries, to discuss best practices as well as innovative tools and technologies to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Ms Dita Liliansa delivered a presentation on ‘Implementation of Port State Measures Agreement in Southeast Asia’. The presentation offered a comparison of the regional bodies dealing with the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement in Southeast Asia and discussed possible cooperation forward. The presentation slides can be downloaded here.

At the 2nd Conference on Maritime Security and Coastal Surveillance Indonesia in Jakarta, Dr Zhen Sun spoke on ‘Fostering More Effective Non-Traditional Maritime Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia’ to an audience consisting of government officials, industry representatives, academics and members of other private sectors.

Dr Sun said that as non-traditional maritime security threats (eg, trafficking of drugs and humans, piracy and armed robbery against ships, etc) pose challenges to all Southeast Asian countries, coordinated efforts are required from various sectors on the national, regional and international levels. To use legal tools to address these threats, Southeast Asian countries will need to ratify and implement relevant international agreements. 

Click here to learn more about Dr Sun’s presentation.

CIL Research Fellow Zhen Sun participated in the 6th World Congress for Korean Politics and Society 2017 organized by the Korean Political Science Association, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea Foundation and Korea Maritime Institute. The conference was held in Yonsei University, Seoul on 22-24 June on ‘Rebuilding Trust in Peace and Democracy’. Zhen delivered a presentation on ‘Non-Traditional Maritime Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia‘ under the panel on ‘How to Promote Peaceful Uses of the Seas in Asia’.

On 16–17 June 2017, CIL Head of Ocean Law and Policy Programme Assoc Prof Robert C Beckman and CIL Research Associate Hadyu Ikrami participated in the Asia-Pacific Ocean Law Institutions Alliance (APOLIA) Conference on ‘Maritime Law Enforcement: Asia-Pacific State Practice’ and the ‘South China Sea Workshop on South China Sea Arbitration and Incidental Maritime Issues’. The conference and workshop took place in Da Nang, Vietnam and were organised by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and The Development of International Law in Asia-Korea (DILA-Korea).

CIL research associates (below) participated in the 14th Asian Law Institute Conference on “A Uniting Force? – ‘Asian Values’ and the Law” on 18–19 May 2017 in Manila, Philippines. The conference was organised by the Asian Law Institute of the National University of Singapore and College of Law at the University of the Philippines. The conference was attended by over 200 legal scholars and practitioners.

CIL Research Associate and Practice Fellow Elsa Sardinha and NUS Faculty of Law Assistant Professor Vincent-Joël Proulx presented a work-in-progress paper entitled ‘Requiem for a Deal, or the End of American Influence in the Investment Chapters of Asia-Relevant FTAs? Can Asian Trade and Investment “Values” Carry the RECP in the Wake of the TPP’s (Potential) Death?’

CIL Research Associate Millicent McCreath presented on ‘Burgeoning Practice of the Establishment of Marine Protected Areas in Southeast Asia to Target the Impacts of International Shipping’.

CIL Research Fellow Dr Zhen Sun presented on ‘ASEAN Framework to Enhance Maritime Security’.

CIL Research Associate Hadyu Ikrami presented on ‘Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines Cooperation in Combating Maritime Crimes: Lessons from the Malacca Straits Patrol and the Role of ASEAN’. 

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan was invited to participate in the 3rd ASEAN-EU High Level Dialogue on Maritime Security Cooperation on 15-16 September 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Dialogue was jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the European Union. Hao Duy Phan made a presentation on ‘Strengthening Regional Cooperation to Address Maritime Security Challenges: The Role of ASEAN’. To download his presentation, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Zhen Sun participated in the 5th AsianSIL Biennial Conference – “International Law and the Changing Economic & Political Landscape in Asia” on 26-27 November 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Conference was organised by the Asian Society of International Law. At the Conference, Dr Sun was a panelist on a Law of the Sea panel and delivered a presentation on “Sustainable Maritime Security Measures in South-East Asia”. To download her presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan and CIL Research Fellow Dr Sun Zhen were invited to speak at the China-ASEAN Forum on Law, Policy and Management of the Sea on 4 August 2015 in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Hao Duy Phan delivered a presentation on ‘ASEAN Cooperation on Maritime Security’ (download in PDF). Sun Zhen made a presentation on ‘Regional Sea Cooperation in East Asia’ (download in PDF). The Forum was co-organised by the Ocean University of China and the Guiyang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. More than 50 participants from China, ASEAN Member States and other states attended the Forum.

CIL Research Fellow Dr Zhen Sun was invited to speak at a conference organised by the Joint Institute for Maritime Law and History of International Shipping Law School at East China University of Political Science and Law entitled ‘Maritime Non-Traditional Security Challenges in Asia-Pacific: An Interdisciplinary and Transnational Dialogue on Reconstruction of Legal Order’ on 15 November 2014, in Shanghai, China. More than 50 academics and students attended the Conference. Dr Sun delivered a presentation on ‘Mechanism under the 1988 SUA Convention for Combating Maritime Security Threats’, in which she argued that SUA provides States Parties with quasi-universal criminal jurisdiction over specific offences that threaten the safety of navigation. This may be an effective tool to address non-traditional maritime security threats in Southeast Asia if all States ratify and implement SUA. To download her presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr. Hao Duy Phan participated at the 11th Annual Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference – “Law in Asia: Balancing Tradition and Modernization” on 29-30 May 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Conference was jointly organized by the University of Malaya and the Asian Law Institute (ASLI). At the Conference, Dr. Hao Duy Phan made a presentation on ASEAN and Maritime Security. He also chaired a session on Environmental Law. To download Dr. Hao Duy Phan’s PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a Roundtable on Maritime Security in East Asia.The Roundtable was organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore. Prof Beckman made a presentation on ‘International Law & Maritime Security in East Asia’.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on Maritime Security and Submarine Cables on 8 June 2013 at a Meeting of the CSCAP Study Group on Maritime Security at the Trader’s Hotel in Singapore. For his presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a Conference on the Practices of the UNCLOS and the Resolution of South China Sea Disputes at the National Taiwan Normal University from 3-5 September 2012. Professor Beckman presented a paper on “Regional Cooperation to Combat Piracy & International Maritime Crimes”. For the draft paper, click here. For the PowerPoint presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a seminar on Piracy & Maritime Security for the 21st Maritime Knowledge Shipping Session on 29 August 2012 at STI Capital Tower in Singapore. The session was jointly organised by the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) and General Insurance Association (GIA). Prof Beckman was one two speakers. He made a presentation on “Piracy & Armed Robbery Against Ships: An International Law Perspective” (download in PDF format).

Research Fellow Dr Lin Lin and Research Associates Ranyta Yusran and Sanjay Pala Krishnan participated in the 9th Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Conference held at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus from 31 May to 1 June 2012. In the first panel on Corporate Law & Governance, Dr Lin Lin presented on “The Evolution of Partnerships and Partnership Law in China: From the Perspective of Asset Partitioning”. Ranyta Yusran opened the first panel on International & Comparative Law by discussing “ASEAN Treaty Practice: Mapping out the Unknown”. Sanjay Pala Krishnan focused on the “Comparative Implementation of Global Conventions on International Maritime Crimes”. To access more information about the ASLI Conference 2012, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman presented a paper on “Cooperation to Combat ‘Piracy’ in Southeast Asia” at an international seminar at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia on 5 April 2012. The Seminar was organized by the Indonesian Centre for the Law of the Sea (ICLOS) at Padjadjaran University, the Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. The seminar was organized in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The other speakers were Dr Hasjim Djalal and Prof Etty Agoes of Indonesia and Prof A.H.A. Soons of NILOS and Martin Sebastian of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA). For a copy of the paper, click here. For a copy of the powerpoint presentation, click here.

The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) of the Faculty of Law, University of Wollongong, Australia hosted the sixth Law of the Sea Institute (LOSI) Conference “The Limits of Maritime Jurisdiction” on 28 November to 2 December 2011 in Wollongong, Australia. The LOSI Conference was sponsored by LOSI, which is based at the School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI), South Korea. CIL Director Robert Beckman gave a presentation on “Maritime Security and Jurisdiction over Pirates and Maritime Terrorists.” CIL Research Associate Tara Davenport was among five panelists who received the 2011 LOSI Research Competition Award for Early Career Researchers and presented on “The Negotiation of Maritime Boundaries in the East China Sea: Legal and Practical Issues.” CIL Research Associate Leo Bernard also attended the Conference. To download Director Beckman’s PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here. To download Tara Davenport’s PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format, click here.

On Thursday 8 and Friday 9 September 2011, CIL Director Robert Beckman attended a book project meeting on Modern Piracy at University College London. Prof Beckman made a presentation on his draft chapter on Piracy in Southeast Asia and had discussions with other experts who are contributing chapters to the book on Modern Piracy which will be edited by Douglas Guilfoyle of the UCL Faculty of Law.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation in Brussels on 5 May 2011 at an Expert Roundtable on Maritime Security. The Roundtable was organized by the Embassy and Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the European Union, and EGMONT, the Royal Institute for International Relations of Belgium, and held in the Priory of Val Duchesse, Brussels. Professor Beckman and Dr Hasjim Djalal of Indonesia attended at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Indonesia. Professor Beckman spoke about maritime security in Southeast Asia. For a copy of Prof Beckman’s PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Associate Ms Tara Davenport participated in a Conference on Globalization and Law of the Sea in Washington, DC. The Conference was organized by the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), the Center for Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) and the Netherlands Institute for Law of the Sea (NILOS). Prof Beckman made a presentation entitled “Maritime Terrorism and the Law of the Sea: Basic Principles and New Challenges”. For PDF version of his presentation, click here. A paper with the same title was co-authored by Prof Beckman and Ms Davenport. For a PDF version of the draft paper, click here. The paper will be revised, edited and submitted for publication as a chapter in the book containing the conference proceedings.

On World Ocean Day, 8 June 2010, CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in a Roundtable Discussion on “UNCLOS 15 Years after its Entry into Force” organized by the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS) at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Prof  Beckman spoke on “International Cooperation to Combat Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships”. For his prepared preliminary remarks, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman delivers a presentation on “Legal Gaps and Loopholes in the Legal Regime on Piracy” (download PDF version) at the MARSEQ Combating Piracy Conference, Singapore.

CIL Directory Robert Beckman made a presentation on “Implementation of the 1988 SUA Convention” at the First Meeting of the CSCAP Study Group on the Implications of Naval Enhancement in the Asia-Pacific, Singapore 25-26th May 2009

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on “Somali Piracy – Legal Issues concerning the Arrest and Prosecution of Somali Pirates” at the Raytheon annual meeting of regional managers, St Regis Hotel, Singapore.

CIL Director Robert Beckman took part in a Panel Discussion on Piracy at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), Washington, DC.

CIL Director Robert Beckman made a presentation on “International Efforts to Combat Piracy in the Gulf of Aden  – Implications for Southeast Asia: at International Workshop on Piracy, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo, Japan.