Prof. Stein Tønnesson
Research Professor, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)
Visiting Research Fellow Nov.-Dec. 2009, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

"...It does not seem realistic to see any major progress soon towards a resolution of the South China Sea dispute. The most realistic positive development would be a legally binding agreement between China and ASEAN on a code-of-conduct. But the role of researchers should not just be to analyze what has already happened, or point out the most likely scenarios for the future. Our role is also to point out opportunities. Therefore the main message in this paper is that is fully possible to arrive at a comprehensive solution to the disputes in the South China Sea on the basis of international law, and that this would not just be in the interest of Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines, but in the best interest of Taiwan and mainland China as well."