KUALA LUMPUR: Protecting access to fisheries and offshore resources in the South China Sea requires stronger maritime capabilities, while growing military activity in the area could increase the risk of miscalculation, potentially leading to incidents that disrupt sea lanes, a conference heard.
Security analyst and retired US Navy Captain Brent Sadler said countries could no longer rely on legal frameworks and arbitration alone to safeguard their interests.
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) judge Dr Nguyen Thi Lan Anh called for legal clarity and cooperation to reduce maritime risks.
They were speaking during the first panel session of the ninth MIMA South China Sea Conference 2026 themed "South China Sea 2026: Rules, Resilience, and Regional Order" on Tuesday.
Sadler, a senior research fellow in naval warfare and advanced technology at The Heritage Foundation's Allison Centre for National Security in the US, urged countries to clearly define their national interests and strengthen their ability to defend those interests at sea.
"There's the language of diplomacy, there's the language of economics, but there's also the language of action, and that's the military and what military and paramilitary forces do," he said.
He also proposed that South China Sea claimant states work together to establish standards of behaviour and communicate their expectations to other countries, including the US.
"Peace can be assured, but it's not going to be easy to maintain, and it's going to require all sides to be active in that regard," he said.
Meanwhile, Nguyen warned that an increasing military presence and differing interpretations of maritime rules could heighten the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, potentially disrupting sea lanes.
She said a proper application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) requires clarity on where an incident occurred, which navigational regime applied, the vessel or aircraft involved, and the activities being conducted.
Navigational rights differ across territorial waters, international straits, exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and the high seas, she said.
In an EEZ, freedom of navigation has to be exercised with due regard for the coastal state's sovereign rights and jurisdiction, while coastal states must also avoid abusing their jurisdiction to hinder lawful navigation.
Nguyen called for data and information sharing to build a common understanding of maritime risks and help countries cooperate in addressing them.
She said the maritime security agenda also extends to undersea cables, energy pipelines, and unmanned vessels, and requires attention to how existing rules apply to emerging technologies.
"The third party objective method or forum always can be helpful," she said, and highlighted advisory opinions and provisional measures alongside dispute settlement mechanisms.
Citing Malaysia and Singapore's use of arbitration and ITLOS provisional measures before reaching a negotiated settlement, Nguyen said legal mechanisms could help countries resolve differences and promote cooperation without prejudice to their positions on sovereignty or maritime disputes.
Hosted by the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), the Oct 13 and 14 conference brings together policymakers, diplomats, academics, and maritime security experts to examine regional cooperation, resilience, and maritime legal frameworks.
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