NEAT Working Group on
Maritime Cooperation in East Asia

Final ReportTokyo
5 August 2015

1. Introduction
In East Asia, regional cooperation and integration have been in progress especiallyin such areas as economy, finance, education and disaster management throughinstitutionalization of such frameworks as the ASEAN plus Three (APT) in 1997 and theEast Asia Summit (EAS) in 2005 as well as the establishment of the ASEAN Economic
Community which is expected to be implemented at the end of 2015. In ASEAN, efforts
have been devoted to expedite smooth flow of people and goods within the region, thereby
reinforcing connectivity of various kinds which would increase the level of intra-regional
economic integration. One of the principal pillars of such efforts is to ensure maritime
connectivity in the region based on "freedom of navigation." Not only ASEAN member
countries but also Japan and other countries in East Asia should not spare efforts to realize
firm establishment of observance of the international law including the "United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea," as well as to take concrete and cooperative actions torender the sea in the region "open and stable."With regard to maritime cooperation in East Asia on the governmental level, suchjoint actions and measures as to enhance maritime cooperation to secure safety ofnavigation and to forge closer cooperation in fighting against sea piracy, hijacking andsmuggling, etc. were included in "ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan 2013 - 2017"
which was adopted at the Fifteenth ASEAN Plus Three Summit in 2013. Besides,
responding to the proposal submitted by the government of Japan on the occasion of theSixth East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2011 of the importance of creating a forum for discussion
on maritime cooperation in the region, it has been so arranged that Expanded ASEAN
Maritime Forum (EAMF) including the EAS participating countries are convened
back-to-back with the existing ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF). To date, three meetings ofEAMF have been convened. In the past meetings of EAMF, topics including enhancementof regional cooperation on maritime issues, the idea of freedom of navigation etc. werediscussed. Also, proposals have been made by the EAMF participating countries that
EAMF should be so reinforced as to become a forum in which strategic and comprehensive
discussions can be made on maritime issues as well as on maritime cooperation.
While efforts have been made to enhance maritime cooperation through various
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frameworks on the governmental level as above described, there are issues which remain
unaddressed substantially including such maritime crimes as illicit drug deals, humantrafficking, smuggling and piracy, etc. As major hindrance to enhancing or ensuring"freedom of navigation" in this area, these maritime crimes are an serious issue whichneeds to be addressed immediately. However, according to a report by the International
Maritime Bureau (IMB) the number of reported incidents of piracy has been on the steadyrise in ASEAN since 2009, while that in the entire world has been on the decrease. As forthe nature of the incidents, whereas theft of money and goods by sneaking in anchoredships and vessels accounted for an important percentage in the past, the number of acts ofatrocity such as high jacking has been burgeoning since 2014. Besides, illegal businessincluding smuggling of arms, illegally logged lumber, drugs, transportation of illegal
immigrants and human trafficking which are conducted on extorted fishing boats onforged registry are rampant.
The characteristics of the maritime crime are that they are transnational,
interconnected, displaying network-type proliferation and expansion by exploiting
loopholes of the existing international institutions and countermeasures. Such being thecase, these maritime crimes are not necessarily addressed as maritime issues in ancomprehensive manner by the countries concerned in East Asia. Instead they are addressed
under various frameworks depending on the cases. ASEAN, for example, issued "ASEAN
Declaration on Transnational Crime" in 1997 and has since convened biennially "ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC)" to discuss responses to the eightcategories of transnational crime of terrorism, drug deals, piracy, trafficking in person,smuggling of arms, international economic crimes, money laundering, cybercrimes. In 2004,
this framework was expanded to include Japan, China and South Korea and since then
"ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC+3)" has been
convened to discuss responses to the same eight areas under the APT framework.
Additionally, in the framework of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), "ARF Seminar on
Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery" was convened in Tokyo in March 2015 as an official
event of the framework.
Thus, it is not easy to grasp the entire picture of maritime crime which is
far-ranging in categories, actors and locations. While solid joint actions among countries in2

the area should be taken to address this issue, in reality however, this issue is being
addressed under segmentalized different frameworks, which are sometimes overlapping.
In order to enhance further regional integration and cooperation in maritime affairs,
thereby fostering regional growth and development, it is imperative, first of all, tostreamline the current confluence of numerous frameworks, to promote unification of theinformation, and to discuss and study concrete measures to implement regional maritimecooperation. In so doing, prior to concrete formulation of policies on the governmental
level, to attain sharing of common awareness of the issue, to nurture common
understanding of the issue, and to enhance cooperation among research institutes in theregion on the track 2 level are indispensable. On the track 2 level, it is quite important toattain confidence building through free and active research and study, to conduct frankexchange of views on resolution measures which it is difficult to propose on thegovernmental level due to restraints of domestic conditions, and to present the result of
these activities to the governments and peoples of the region, thereby encouraging actual
governmental level negotiations on the issue. Besides, strengthening such cooperative ties
among research institutes on the track 2 level contributes not only to realizing intellectual
exchange among the countries concerned focusing on "cooperative" aspects, but also toproviding a forum in which in-depth discussion could be held among the countries in East
Asia on issues which are extremely difficult to be discussed on the governmental level.

2. Objective
Against the background as above described, the objective of the WG is as follows:(1) With regard to maritime cooperation to be enhanced intensively in East Asia,
to comprehend and share information on the current status of the maritime crime andapproaches of the respective countries (including the existing institutional frameworks)
among the participating countries.
(2) Based on the outcomes of the process described in the above section as well as
challenges deriving from it, to discuss ways to strengthen and enhance cooperative ties
among research institutes and to develop a network of them.
(3) Based on the outcomes of the processes described in the above two sections, toprepare a set of concrete and detailed policy recommendations on the ways to strengthen
cooperative ties among research institutes specialized in issues related to maritime
cooperation, and on the challenges to be addressed on the working level.
33. Discussions on Maritime Cooperation in East Asia
26 experts from ASEAN +3 member countries and the sponsoring organization,
the Japan Forum on International Relations (JFIR), took part in the WG meeting. The WG
meeting had the following three sessions.
In Session I “Current Status of Maritime Cooperation in East Asia,” the WG
discussed the importance of sharing and nurturing common awareness and understandingof issues related to maritime cooperation among research institutes in the region. Therehave been various yet segmented bilateral and multilateral mechanisms on maritime
cooperation existing in the region. Among others, the UNCLOS as a “constitution for theoceans” establishes the legal framework for all uses of the oceans and seas and enhanced
cooperation in the uses of the oceans and seas is a key to achieve peace and prosperity ofthe region. To that end, exercising maximum restraint among the concerned countries in
the South China See is crucial to strengthen a confidence-building process in the region. We
discussed the importance of freedom of navigation in accordance with the internationallaw and the need to speed up consultations towards the early conclusion of the Code of
Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. Based on the understanding that maritime security
threats are syndicated crimes and it is imperative to deter and disrupt transnationalorganized crimes in the region, the WG discussed that technical assistance and capacity
building on safety of navigation should be enhanced as described in the ASEAN+3
Cooperation Work Plan 2007-2017. The issue of illegal migration and human trafficking in
the region was raised as seen in recent incidents in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman See.
The WG discussed that a humanitarian approach itself is not sufficient to tackle the issue
but concerned countries need to strike a balance between humanitarian needs and thepracticability of the situation. This is an opportunity for all the countries in the region towork together, and there is a need to create policy and legal infrastructures as well as legal
enforcement mechanisms with a more holistic approach to mitigate illegal migration in theregion.
In Session II “Prospects and Challenges of Maritime Cooperation in East Asia,”
the WG discussed the importance and prospects of seeking areas of potential cooperationin non-traditional maritime security issues that could serve as a foundation to promote a
confidence-building process in the region. We acknowledged that enhanced cooperation is4

necessary to combat threats to non-traditional maritime security in such areas as humantrafficking, illegal migration, piracy, drug smuggling, port security, illegal, unregulated andunreported (IUU) fishing and sustainable management of maritime resources throughinformation sharing. IUU fishing remains as a serious concern affecting the fisheryindustry as well as an impediment to sustainable fisheries and ecosystem in the region. Inaddition to those challenges, the WG shared potential areas of cooperation in rescue andaid delivery operations in response to natural disasters, live tracking of commercial
aircrafts over the air space above the territorial sea and maritime surveillance on themovement of nuclear materials in the wake of nuclear disasters. Also, the WG addressed
the needs to build and enhance capacities among the countries in the region to monitor andcontrol illicit activities at sea, which included sustaining sufficient maritime humanresources. Furthermore, in light of the importance of creating a safe and sustainable
environment for the maritime industry in the region, the WG discussed the issue of ships
registered under flags of convenience and the regulation on workers on ships.
In Session III “Towards Closer Cooperative Ties in Maritime Cooperation in EastAsia,” the WG first discussed the need to intensify efforts to mitigate nationalism andpromote regionalism in maritime cooperation in East Asia by going beyond a nation-centric
thinking way. Second, as global climate change has affected sea level rise, threats posed byclimate change to the seas in East Asia is an emerging issue and many countries in theregion do not have sufficient capacities to deal with. Third, the WG discussed theimportance of the conservation of maritime ecosystem and the responsible utilization ofmarine resources. To effectively utilize marine ecosystem services available in the region,
we need to standardize methods and data sharing on marine ecosystem for sustainable
resource management and to establish communities of marine resource users by applying
an “area-capability cycle,” which could serve as a local surveillance system to facilitate
mutual trust among marine resource users.

4. Policy Recommendations
Based on the discussions above, this Working Group on “Maritime Cooperation in
East Asia” summarized the following policy recommendations;

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１．

To

establish

aframework

ofcooperation

andcross-sectoral

information sharing among the countries in the areas of maritime
crime#,

navigation

safety,environment

protection,

disastermanagement and maritime development in East Asia.
２．

To establishing an information sharing framework among thecountries, to enhance human and institutional capacity building forrelevant bodies in charge of maritime safety and security in order tocombat maritime crimes.

３．

To foster development of human resources on maritime management
and maritime policy to address maritime issues in accordance withinternational law in each country of the region and facilitate
cooperation among the countries for such efforts.

４．

To seek the possibility of establishing a single point of contact in eachcountry on maritime management in the region and pursuestreamlined communication channels.

５．

To jointly promote the development of the East Asia maritime
cooperation,

toexplore

thepossibilityofholding

anAPT

Oceans-related Ministerial Meeting and holding a maritime experts’meeting to strengthen maritime cooperation among East Asiancountries. Also to promote research exchange among research
institutes in East Asia.
６．

To advance discussions on the governmental level towards theestablishment of an integrated information sharing center on
maritime cooperation in East Asia.

７．

To pursue the conservation of maritime ecosystem and biodiversity
and the effective usage of maritime resources in the region throughmethodologies, such as Area Capability Cycle.

# Major examples of maritime crimes are piracy, maritime terrorism, drug trafficking,human smuggling, maritime theft and fraud, illegal fishing and offences against the marineenvironment..
[END]

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List of Participants
Cambodia
CHHAY Songheng
Deputy Director-General of ASEAN-Cambodia,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
BANN Sokvibol
Bureau Chief in charge of East Asia Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

China
ZHA Daojiong
Professor, School of International Studies, & Institute of Ocean Research, Peking University
GUO Yanjun
Deputy Director & Associate Professor, Institute of Asian Studies, China Foreign Affairs
UniversityIndonesia
Edy PRASETYONO
Head, Post-graduate Studies, Department of International Relations,
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia
Yandry Kurniawan KASIM
Acting Executive Director, Center for Global Society Studies, University of Indonesia

Japan[WG Members]*Director of the WG
YAMADA Yoshihiko*Professor, Tokai University
GODA Hiroyuki
Manager, Government & Industrial Affairs Group, NYK LineISHIKAWA Satoshi
Associate Professor, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature7SAKAMOTO Shigeki
Professor, Doshisha University
YAGI Nobuyuki
Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo
WAKITA Kazumi
Associate Professor, Tokai University[The Japan Forum on International Relations]
ISHIGAKI Yasuji
Trustee, JFIRWATANABE Mayu
Executive Director, JFIRKIKUCHI Yona
Senior Research Fellow, JFIRYANO Takuya
Research Coordinator, JFIR

Korea
Daesong HYUNResearcher, Research Institute for Information and Culture
Korea University

LaosYong CHANTHALANGSY
Director General, Institute of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Malaysia
Chin Yoon CHIN
Director General, The Maritime Institute of Malaysia

8Myanmar
Nyunt Maung SHEIN
Ambassador/ Chairman, Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies
Daw Maran Ja TAUNG
Member, Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies

Philippines
Julio AMADOR
Deputy Director-General, Foreign Service InstituteSingapore
Selina HOSenior Research Fellow, Centre for Asia and Globalisation,
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Thailand
Boonsub PANICHAKARN
Director, School of Logistics and Supply Chain, Naresuan University
VECHAVAT Nitheekulawantn
Researcher, School of Logistics and Supply Chain, Naresuan University

VietnamNGUYEN Thuy Min
Researcher, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
In Alphabetical Order of Country Name

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