At the 2024 "Symposium on International Maritime Dispute Settlement and International Law" held on December 16 in Beijing, international law experts said that communication and negotiation are effective ways to resolve maritime disputes.

(On December 16, Ahmed Amin Fathalla, a member of International Law Commission takes interview with the Voice of the South Sea.)

"If you see the UN Charter, you can see that there are priorities. You start to negotiation. And with the end we're going to the courts. Therefore, I think negotiation is the best way to settle disputes," Fathalla said to the Voice of the South Sea during the symposium.

Fattalla further pointed out that although there is a certain degree of binding force when disputes are submitted to the tribunal for adjudication, the actual implementation may be fraught with difficulties due to the lack of compulsory enforcement power. In contrast, if the parties in dispute reach a certain consensus through consultation, such a consensus can gain more recognition from the parties involved, and only in this way can maritime disputes be effectively resolved. 

(On December 16, Carlos Argüello Gomez, a member of International Law Commission takes interview with the Voice of the South Sea.)

Carlos Argüello Gomez, also a member of the International Law Commission, believes that the principle of consent of the parties to the dispute settlement mechanism is crucial in the international rule of law.

If they only try to force one of the parties to accept a mechanism for which they are not ready to do so, it would not lead to any real solution, Gomez emphasized during the interview, and with this type of arbitration, caution must be exercised.

(On December 16, Assistant Foreign Minister Miao Deyu delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Symposium on International Maritime Dispute Settlement and International Law.)

At the symposium, Assistant Foreign Minister Miao Deyu said in his speech, in the settlement of international maritime disputes, we must uphold sovereign equality, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. Disputes shall be resolved peacefully. Regional security and stability shall be maintained. The principle of consent of states must be duly respected. Disputes shall be settled through methods chosen by the states concerned.

According to Sun Jin, Director of the Preparatory Office of the International Organization for Mediation, China has jointly initiated the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation with other countries, which will become the world's first intergovernmental international legal organization dedicated to the settlement of international disputes through mediation.