Monthly Archives: August 2020

USA: Visa Restrictions and Entity Listings Relating to Chinese Activities in South China Sea

On 26 August 2020, the US State Department announced visa restrictions on “individuals responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or the PRC’s use of coercion against Southeast Asian claimants to inhibit their access to offshore resource”. This includes inadmissibility to the USA for listed persons and visa restrictions for immediate family members. The persons listed remain confidential, but are inadmissible on the basis of US foreign policy concerns (senior State Department official; 8 USC 1182(a)(3)(c)).

On 26 August 2020, the US Department of Commerce announced that 24 Chinese companies were added to the Entity List (15 CFR 744.16) of the Export Administration Regulations on the basis “these entities enabled China to reclaim and militarize disputed outposts in the South China Sea” (85(167) Federal Register 52898). The US government determined it had “reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, that the entity has been involved, is involved, or poses a significant risk of being or becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States” (15 CFR 744.11). A license is required, to the extent specified on the Entity List, to export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) any item subject to the Export Administration Regulations.

On the 27 August 2020, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson called the measures “unjustified”.

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Webinar: IUU Fishing as a Major Security Threat in Southeast Asia

Pacific Forum, in partnership with the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS), will host its next session of the Maritime Discussion Series, entitled, IUU Fishing as a Major Security Threat in Southeast Asia, 3 September 2020 from 09:00 (SGT).

For more information and registration see here.

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Webinar: Safeguarding the Freedom of Navigation in the Indo-Pacific

The German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) shall host a webinar, entitled, Safeguarding the Freedom of Navigation in the Indo-Pacific: What Role for European Navies?, 17 September 2020 from 16:00.

For more information and registration see here.

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Webinar: Law and governance approaches within the ocean-climate nexus

The UNFCCC Secretariat (UN Climate Change), in co-operation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Center for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL),  is hosting a Climate Legislation Webinar Series. The second webinar, entitled, Law and governance approaches within the ocean-climate nexus, will be held 17 September 2020 from 13:00 (GMT).

For more information and registration see here and here.

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Webinar: The contribution of the shipping sector to emission reductions

The International Foundation for the Law of the Sea (IFLOS) shall host its 13th Maritime Talks, entitled, Cleaner Air and better climate? – The contribution of the shipping sector to emission reductions, 26 September  2020, from 10.00 (CEST).

For more information and registration, see here and here.

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ITLOS: Election of Seven Members of the Tribunal

The Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (SPLOS) have elected seven Members of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), following three rounds of voting held 24-26 August 2020 (UNCLOS, Annex VI, Article 4; Round 1; Round 2; Round 3).

The States Parties re-elected David Joseph Attard and Markiyan Z. Kulyk and elected Kathy-Ann Brown (Jamaica), Ida Caracciolo (Italy), Jielong Duan (China), María Teresa Infante Caffi (Chile), and Maurice Kamga (Cameroon) (see curricula vitae of candidates nominated by States Parties). The nine year term of each Member will commence 1 October 2020 (Rules of the Tribunal, Article 2).

The term of office for five Members of the Tribunal shall expire 30 September 2020, namely, Tafsir Malick Ndiaye (Senegal), Jean-Pierre Cot (France), Anthony Lucky (Trinidad and Tobago), Zhiguo Gao (China) and Elsa Kelly (Argentina).

For more information see the ITLOS Press Release and the Registrar’s Overview of the Election Procedure.

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Webinar: The Maritime Silk Road – International and EU Law Reflections

The Jean Monnet Chair on International and European Law of the Sea (IELoS) shall host a roundtable (as part of its EULoS Summer School), entitled, The Maritime Silk Road: International and EU Law Reflections, 28 August 2020, from 09:15 (CET).

For more information and registration see here.

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Digital Lecture Series: Theorizing Law of the Sea in Context

The Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS) shall host a digital lecture series, entitled, Theorizing Law of the Sea in Context, the next seminar being 27 August 2020 from 15:00 (GMT +2).

For more information see here and here.

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Webinars: Blue Justice Forum 2020

The Blue Justice Initiative, in cooperation with UNDP’s Blue Resilience project, shall host a series of webinars, entitled, Blue Justice Forum 2020, 27 August – 5 November 2020.

For more information and registration see here.

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Conference: The Secrets of the Ocean

Ocean Sustainability Bergen, University of Bergen, shall host a conference, entitled, The Secrets of the Ocean – how can we utilize the biodiversity of the ocean for future food, medicine, genetic resources and more in a post-Covid era?, 11 November 2020 at the University of Bergen.

For more information see here.

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Webinar: Calming Troubled Waters in the South China Sea

The Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia shall host a virtual discussion, entitled, Calming Troubled Waters in the South China Sea, on the 19 August 2020 from 14:00 (WIB).

For more information and registration, see here.

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Webinar: The Shadow Blue Economy – Tackling Organised Crime in Fisheries

The High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy shall host a webinar, entitled, The Shadow Blue Economy: Tackling Organised Crime in Fisheries, 18 August 2020 from 08:30 (EDT). The event will launch their publication, ‘Organised Crime in the Fisheries Sector’.

For more information see here.

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