In a recent article issued on the news site Latestmalaysia.com, it is said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays a vital role in settling the East Sea disputes, with the international norms and behaviors stipulated in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The role of the ruling on the territorial waters issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on July 12, 2016 which is derived from The Hague (the Netherlands) has been affirmed by the same article.

However, even with the determined attempt of the parties to keep stability by means of doing collective measures and activities, the article emphasized that the security situation in the region remains at risk.

The threats roots from maritime terrorism, piracy, unlawful intrusions into territorial waters, and illegal fishing. There is also trafficking of drugs, weapons and human. Illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing activities also threaten marine life as well as increases tensions between states.

https://www.theasianaffairs.com/aseans-role-in-resolving-east-sea-disputes-affirmed-by-malaysian-news-media/