China’s Maritime Law Enforcement Vol. 96
265
Summit on June 26, 2020, all ten member States declared that UNCLOS is
the basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdic-
tion, and legitimate interests over maritime zones:
We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, secu-
rity, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the
South China Sea and recognized the benefits of having the South China
Sea as a sea of peace, stability, and prosperity. We underscored the im-
portance of the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration
on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety.
We were encouraged by the progress of the substantive negotiations to-
wards the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct
in the South China Sea (COC) consistent with international law, including
the 1982 UNCLOS. We welcomed the completion of the first reading of
the Single Draft COC Negotiating Text. We emphasized the need to main-
tain and promote an environment conducive to the COC negotiations, and
thus welcomed practical measures that could reduce tensions and the risk
of accidents, misunderstandings and miscalculation. We stressed the im-
portance of undertaking confidence building and preventive measures to
enhance, among others, trust and confidence amongst parties; and we re-
affirmed the importance of upholding international law, including the 1982
UNCLOS.
We discussed the situation in the South China Sea, during which concerns
were expressed on the land reclamations, recent developments, activities
and serious incidents, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased
tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region. We
reaffirmed the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-
restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate dis-
putes and affect peace and stability and avoid actions that may further com-
plicate the situation, and pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accord-
ance with universally recognized principles of international law, including
the 1982 UNCLOS. We reaffirmed that the 1982 UNCLOS is the basis for deter-
mining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and legitimate interests over
maritime zones, and the 1982 UNCLOS sets out the legal framework within which
all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. We emphasized the im-
portance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of all activ-
ities by claimants and all other states, including those mentioned in the