Maritime Security

On 31 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-hosted with the Ocean Policy Research Institute, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the 6th International Symposium on the Law of the Sea “UNCLOS at 25 years: Challenges and opportunities in seeking an ever more autonomous and comprehensive maritime order” at the Institute’s International Conference Room.

1. The Symposium was attended by Mr Keisuke Suzuki, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and scholars and practitioners in the law of the sea and ocean-related issues who were invited from Japan and across the world. 
2. State Minister Suzuki, in his welcome remarks, reiterated Japan’s commitments as a maritime nation to help rule of law prevail in the ocean under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Noting that there have been attempts to make arbitrary interpretations of UNCLOS only for the sake of greater national interest, or to excessively focus on particular aspects of the Convention only in favour of the preservation of the marine resources rather than its sustainable use, State Minister Suzuki emphasized that the Government of Japan will work hard to ensure that UNCLOS will, while maintaining its comprehensiveness as the rule governing the maritime order, reinforce its presence as the foundation of the legal order at sea through the use of its dispute settlement procedures. He added that he hopes to see the deepening of discussions through various occasions like the Symposium.
3. This was followed by very active discussions by renowned scholars and practitioners on issues including peaceful settlement of maritime delimitation, marine scientific research, ocean governance, new challenges to the maritime order and measures to address them.