VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said that for four decades the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has remained the best guarantee for law and order at sea. Also, it is hoped that countries in ASEAN will collaborate in preserving UNCLOS in the region.

“UNCLOS may not be perfect, but it remains our best guarantee for law and order at sea. Changing our paradigm into collaboration is very important to preserving UNCLOS for the coming decades," said Retno Marsudi in the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of UNCLOS entitled "Promoting Law and Order for Seas and Oceans" at the ASEAN Secretariat, Tuesday (29/11/2022), Jakarta.

According to Retno, the increasing geopolitical tension in the maritime domain has made the enforcement of UNCLOS rules even more challenging. However, he said it was a challenge that must be faced together in order to ensure that the sea remains a sea of ​​peace and prosperity.

Therefore, Retno assessed that there were three things that ASEAN countries needed to do in preserving UNCLOS. Among them, maintaining respect for international colleagues.

“The state must comply with international law, including the anchor must be the main norm that changes the behavior of a state at sea. UNCLOS must be implemented faithfully, and it stuck there," he said.

UNCLOS is said to be the main key in peaceful maritime dispute resolution. Where this can be seen in the dispute resolution process in the South China Sea (LCS).

“Second, resolve maritime disputes peacefully. UNCLOS is the key to achieving this goal," he said.

The Secretary General of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi said, in the midst of important concerns for ASEAN to start working on exploiting the productive forces of the sea such as the blue economy. Including, ASEAN is also encouraged to contribute to the development of UNCLOS implementation.

“The last four decades have provided lessons for everyone regarding the implementation of UNCLOS. We hope that these lessons will enable all of us to fully exploit the potential offered by UNCLOS," he said.

On the same occasion, the 16th Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Hassan Wirajuda, assessed that during 40 years UNCLOS had not yet reached its universality, to declare all norms contained as part of international law to be flawed.

“Because, only allows one reason to choose. So, it doesn't contribute to the stability of an expectation and an important part of good implementation," he said.

2022 marks the 40th year for upholding the international supremacy of the law of the sea, UNCLOS 1982 which was created 40 years ago on April 30, 1982. The UN Secretary General at the time Javier Pérez de Cuéllar stated that the Convention was the most significant achievement in international law in the 20th century. 20 and currently there are 168 parties that ratified UNCLOS 1982. (RRI)