ABSTRACT
This article accounts for the objectives, approaches, and achievements of the Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea Workshops over the last 10 years and draws a number of important conclusions. Three of these are:
Bigger countries in the region should be mindful of the views of their neighbors and take steps to ensure that they are not perceived to be dominating or bullying their smaller neighbors;
Countries in the region should develop cooperative efforts and programs or projects so that the potential conflicts could be managed by converting them into actual cooperation, since any potential conflicts also contain in themselves elements of cooperation.
The parties could make a positive contribution to peace and stability in the South China Sea region if they pledge to adhere to the principles of international law, particularly to the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, and declare their willingness to submit disputes to adjudication if negotiation between the parties do not bring a solution within a reasonable time or if the disputes persist to the degree that they endanger peace and stability in the South China Sea region.
