Unplanned or Planned Encounters:

Building Codes to Prevent Incidents at Sea

Emeritus Professor Carlyle A. Thayer

Presentation to Session 5
Maintaining Peace and Cooperation Through Time of Turbulence
12th International Conference on the South China Sea
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam,
Vietnam Lawyers’ Association and Foundation on East Sea Studies
Hanoi, November 17, 2020
 Overview
1. Major incidents arising from planned and unplanned
encounters in the South China Sea from August 3,
2018 to the present
2. Submissions in the ASEAN-China Single Draft South
China Sea Code of Conduct Negotiating Text (SDNT)
to prevent major incidents in the South China Sea
3. Conclusion and some policy recommendations
 1.Major Incidents in the South China Sea,
2018-2020
• Naval Warships and Aircraft
• PLAN Destroyer manoeuvres unsafely at USS Decatur (30/9/18)
• PLAN Corvette aims fire control radar at BRP Conrado Yap (17/2/20)
• PLAN Destroyer fires military grade laser at USN P-8A Poseidon (17/2/20)
• Maritime Law Enforcement Vessels
• Vietnam Coast Guard vessels ram Indonesian Patrol Boat (27/4/19)
• China Coast Guard rams and sinks three fishing boat: one Filipino (9/6/19)
and two Vietnamese (2/4/20 and 16/6/20)
 Major Incidents in the South China Sea,
2018-2020
• Maritime Law Enforcement Vessels continued
• China Coast Guard harass oil exploration vessels in Vietnam’s EEZ (July-Oct
2019)
• China Coast Guard harass oil exploration vessels in Malaysia’s EEZ (Dec 19-Apr
2020)
• USN and RAN monitor standoff
• Maritime Militia Trawlers/Civilian Fishing Boats
• Chinese fishing boat discharges hand held laser at pilots of RAN helicopters
flying at night over South China Sea (May 2019)
• Vietnamese fishing boat crews throw hard objects and flammable liquid at
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency vessel before ramming it (16/8/20)
2. Submissions in the ASEAN-China Single Draft
South China Sea Code of Conduct Negotiating Text
• COLREG – 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at
Sea
• SOLAS – 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
• SAR – 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue
• SUA 1988 – Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against
the Safety of Maritime Navigation
• Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore
• CUES – 2014 Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea
• Cambodia, China and Singapore [ASEAN and China Joint Statement 2016]
 COLREG & CUES
• International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
• These Rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters
connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels.
• Nothing in these Rules shall exonerate any vessel, or the owner, master or
crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these
Rules
• Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea
• Simulation of attacks by aiming guns, missiles, fire control radars, torpedo
tubes or other weapons in the direction of vessels or aircraft encountered.
• Illumination of the navigation bridges or aircraft cockpits.
• The use of laser in such a manner as to cause harm to personnel or damage to
equipment onboard vessels or aircraft encountered
 3. Conclusion
and Policy Recommendations
• SGNT legal instruments necessary but not sufficient
• All parties should accede to COLREG, CUES, SUA and SOLAS
• CUES should be extended to civilian vessels (maritime law
enforcement, survey ships, fishing trawlers and boats)
• Need further elaboration of processes, guidelines and
notification protocols to operationalise the Parties’
obligations as Annexes to COC
• Third parties should be able to accede to COC
 Table 1
State Parties to International Conventions/Codes on Maritime Security
Country COLREG CUES SOLAS SAR SUA ICOPP
China Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö

Brunei Ö Ö Ö – – –

Cambodia Ö Ö Ö – – –

Indonesia Ö Ö Ö – – –

Malaysia Ö Ö Ö – – √

Myanmar – – – – – –

Philippines – Ö Ö – – √

Singapore Ö Ö Ö Ö – –

Thailand Ö Ö Ö – – –

Vietnam Ö Ö Ö – – –

COLREG – International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (1972); CUES – Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (2014), ICOPP – International Convention on Oil Pollution
Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (1990); SAR - International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (1979); SOLAS – International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
(1974); and SUA -Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Navigation (1988).
 Unplanned or Planned Encounters:
Building Codes to Prevent Incidents at Sea

Emeritus Professor Carlyle A. Thayer

Presentation to Session 5
Maintaining Peace and Cooperation Through Time of Turbulence
12th International Conference on the South China Sea
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam,
Vietnam Lawyers’ Association and Foundation on East Sea Studies
Hanoi, November 17, 2020