Researchers' Activities

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons was invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines as a presenter in a side event they organised on UNCLOS and the protection of the marine environment during the Meeting of the States Parties to the Law of the Sea Convention, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on 10 June 2015. Her presentation was titled ‘Environmental Impacts from Large Scale Constructions in the South China Sea: Legal Issues’. To see her presentation, please click here.

CIL Research Fellow Dr Zhen Sun participated in the Conference on ‘The European Union and the Arctic’ on 29-30 May 2015, at the University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom. The Conference was jointly organised by the University of Dundee and the University of Tromso. At the Conference, Dr. Sun made a presentation on ‘The Interests and Potential Roles of Observers in the Arctic Council – In the Context of Marine Environmental Protection’. Her presentation attracted discussion on the general involvement of the Asian States in the Arctic issues. To download her presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons participated at the 2015 American Association of Petroleum Geologists Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Sedimentation of the South China Sea Region, on 26-27 May 2015, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard participated at the 2015 ILA – ASIL Asia-Pacific Research Forum on 25-26 May 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan. The Research Forum was organised by the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law – Chinese (Taiwan) Branch of the International Law Association, in cooperation with the American Society of International Law and Research Center for International Legal Studies, National Chengchi University. Prof Beckman was part of the panel on Law of the Sea: South China Sea, where he presented on the Philippines v China Case and Maritime Disputes in the South China Sea. To download Prof Beckman’s paper, click here. To download his presentation in PDF format, click here.

CIL Researchers Leonardo Bernard, Harpreet Kaur Dillon, Hao Duy Phan, Sun Zhen and Ranyta Yusran participated in the 12th Annual Asian Law Institute Conference – “Law 2.0: New Challenges in Asia” on 21-22 May 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan. The Conference was jointly organised by the National University of Taiwan and the Asian Law Institute. At the Conference, CIL researchers made various presentations on different topics of international law and chaired different panels. Dr Zhen Sun and Mr Leonardo Bernard spoke at a panel on international law with a particular focus on the law of the sea. Dr Zhen Sun made a presentation on “A Hot Land in A Cold Place: Opportunities and Challenges for Singapore in the Arctic” (download in PDF) and Mr Leonardo Bernard made a presentation on “Historic Fishing Rights and the EEZ” (download in PDF). Dr Hao Duy Phan and Ms Harpreet Dhillon participated in two different panels on international law and spoke about “ASEAN’s Legal Personality and its Treaty-Making Power” (download in PDF) and “Consolidation of Claims Arising under an International Investment Agreement: What is at Stake?” (download in PDF) respectively. Ms Ranyta Yusran was a panellist at the panel on cross-border issues. She made a presentation on “Mapping the ASEAN Framework on Transnational Crime” (download in PDF).

CIL Director Robert Beckman presented lectures on 8 and 11 May 2015 on the law of the sea to the participants in the RSIS Command Staff College Course in Maritime Security Studies at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Visiting Research Fellow Captain J Ashley Roach attended the annual Plenary Meeting of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) in Hong Kong from 28-30 April 2015. Professor Beckman made an invited presentation on ‘Sovereignty and Maritime Disputes in Southeast Asia: Implications for the Cable Industry’. To view his presentation in PDF format, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Denise Cheong was invited to speak at the Workshop on “National Ocean Environmental Contingency Plan in Asian Pacific States” on 27 April 2015 in Busan, Korea where she delivered a presentation on “National Ocean Environmental Contingency Plan in Asian Pacific States: The Singapore Perspective”. The Workshop was organised by Development of International Law in Asia (DILA-Asia) and The Institute for Legal Studies of INHA University, Korea. The Workshop was attended by academics from all over the Asia-Pacific Region as well as the United States and Canada. To download her presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman presented a paper at the 2nd Conference on the South China Sea at Nanjing University in Nanjing, China on 24-25 April 2015. The Conference was jointly organised by the Centre on Asia and Globalisation of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, and the Collaborative Innovation Centre for South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University. Professor Beckman’s paper was entitled “International Law and China’s Reclamation Works in the South China Sea”. For a copy of the draft paper, click here. For a copy of the PowerPoint Presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman gave a talk at Yale Law School on 7 April 2015 on International Law and the South China Sea Disputes.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan was invited to speak at the Workshop on Maritime Security and the Marine Environment on 30 March 2015 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Hao Duy Phan delivered a presentation on ‘Global Regimes for Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment: An Overview’. The Workshop was organised by the United States Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (USCSCAP) in conjunction with the Inter-Sessional Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on Maritime Security. More than 50 participants from the ARF states attended the Workshop. To download his presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Senior Visiting Research Fellow Lynn Kuok participated in a two-day workshop co-organised by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies entitled “South China Sea: Duel Track Approach and Win-Win Cooperation” on 28-29 March 2015 in Hainan, China. Prof Beckman made a presentation in a panel on International Cooperation in Enclosed and Semi-Enclosed Seas. The Workshop was attended by Chinese Government officials and by scholars from China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada, the United States and Sweden. To view Prof Beckman’s presentation in PDF format, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard presented at the International Workshop on the Legal Aspects of the Establishment of the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf, held in Tokyo, Japan on 26-27 March 2015. The workshop was organised by the Japan Hydrographic Association and the Nippon Foundation. Leo was part of the third session on the Legal Regime of the Continental Shelf – Regional Experience, where he presented an overview of the maritime claims in the South China Sea. To view a photo from the event and access his presentation, click here.

CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard participated in the International Seminar on Maritime Security in East Asia, held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 17 March 2015. The seminar was organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta. Leo was part of the panel on Managing Disputes: East China Sea, where he presented the legal perspective on the ongoing disputes in the East China Sea. To access his presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan, CIL Research Fellows Leonardo Bernard and Junianto James Losari and CIL Research Associate Harpreet Kaur Dhillon participated in the World Congress on International Law, held in New Delhi, India, from 9 to 11 January 2015. Organised by the Indian Society of International Law, the programme covered a wide range of areas in international law and practice. CIL researchers were invited to speak on panels addressing the law of the sea and international investment, trade and dispute resolution. To download their presentations, click here.

CIL Director Professor Robert Beckman, CIL Global Associate Captain J Ashley Roach and CIL Senior Research Fellow Dr Hao Duy Phan were invited to participate in the 6th South China Sea International Conference on ‘Cooperation for Regional Security and Development’ on 17-18 November 2014 in Da Nang, Viet Nam. The Conference was jointly organised by the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam, the Viet Nam Lawyers Association and the East Sea Foundation. Professor Beckman and Dr Phan co-authored a paper on ‘Air Defence Identification Zones: Implications for Freedom of Overflight and Maritime Disputes’. Captain Roach presented a paper on ‘Conforming Maritime Claims to the Law of the Sea’. Professor Beckman also chaired a session at the Conference on ‘Confidence Building and Preventive Diplomacy’. To download Prof Beckman’s presentation, click here. To download Capt Roach’s presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman gave a presentation at a Conference on ‘Energy Security in Southeast Asia: Implications and Concerns’. The conference was organised by the NUS Energy Studies Institute and held at the Carlton Hotel in Singapore. Professor Beckman participated in the panel on Maritime Disputes and Tensions in Southeast Asia. The title of his presentation was International Law and the South China Sea Disputes.

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 Youna Lyons was invited as a speaker to the pre-conference policy discussions on the implementation of the D-2 regulations on 5 November 2014 in Singapore. In her presentation titled ‘Ballast Water Management Convention: D-1 and D-2 regulations and related compliance issues’, she discussed the circumstances in which Port States may proceed to indicative and detailed samplings and the sanctions that may be imposed by the Port State should the samplings suggest non-compliance with the regulations. The discussion was based on the language of the Convention, as well as the new Port State Control Guidelines adopted at MEPC 67. To view her presentation, click here.

CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons was invited as a speaker to the 6th Annual Offshore Decommissioning Training Workshop, Asia Pacific, in Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia, on 4-5 November 2014, organised by DecomWorld. Youna presented a paper titled ‘Prospects for Rigs-to-Reefs in Southeast Asia: November 2013 Workshop Findings and Recommendations’. To download her presentation and for more information about the event, click here click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman gave two lectures at the Ministry of National Defence of Viet Nam in Ha Noi on 23 October 2014. He was received by Deputy Minister of Defence and Navy Command Admiral Nguyen Van Hien. He also delivered a presentation at the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam on 24 October 2014. The lectures were on UNCLOS and the South China Sea.

On 23 October 2014, as part of CIL’s continuing collaboration with the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), CIL, ICPC, George Washington University Law School and the Sargasso Sea Commission, co-sponsored a workshop titled ‘Submarine Cables in the Sargasso Sea – Legal and Environmental Issues Beyond National Jurisdiction’. CIL Global Associate Tara Davenport represented CIL and served as rapporteur at the Workshop. The objective of the Workshop was to start a dialogue between the submarine cable industry and the newly established Sargasso Sea Commission regarding best environmental practices for the laying and repair of cables in the Sargasso Sea. The Workshop brought together government representatives, representatives from the cable industry, academics, scientists and lawyers to discuss the impact that cable operations may have on the marine environment, the ecological sensitivity of the Sargasso Sea and whether any best practices should be adopted to minimise the impact, if any, of cable operations in the Sargasso Sea. For more information about the Workshop, link to presentations and the Report of the Proceedings, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman and CIL Research Fellow Leonardo Bernard participated in the Workshop on the Future of the Seas in East Asia, held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 5-6 October 2014. The Workshop was organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta. Professor Beckman was part of the panel on ‘Addressing the Challenges: Managing Disputes’, where he presented the legal perspective of the disputes in the East and South China Sea. To access his presentation, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the 3rd Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) South China Sea Conference, entitled ‘Promoting Sustainable Use of the South China Sea in an Era of Dynamic Geostrategic Change’, at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur from 2-3 September 2014. Professor Beckman gave a paper and made a presentation on ‘UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitration’ in Panel 4 on Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and the South China Sea Disputes. His paper provided a background on UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitration and his oral presentation focused on the Philippines v. China case. Professor Beckman also served as one of three speakers in the final panel on Centering Diplomacy towards achieving a Sustainable and Peaceful South China Sea. For a copy of his paper on UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitration, click here. For a copy of his presentation on the Philippines v. China case, click here.

CIL Director Robert Beckman participated in the ‘International Symposium on the Philippines v. China Arbitration Case: The Efficacy of the Annex VII Tribunal in Resolving Complex Territorial/Maritime Disputes’ from 21-22 August 2014 in Beijing, China. The Symposium was organised by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in cooperation with the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea. He presented a paper on ‘Offshore Geographic Features and their Significance to Sovereignty and Maritime Claims’. For his paper, click here. For his presentation, click here.