An interview with Wu Shicun, president and senior research fellow of China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS): "The South China Sea in the Post-Pandemic Era and China's Response".

Excerpts from the last section on recommendations for China:

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Q: "How do you think China should respond to the military, diplomatic and public opinion challenges from claimant and non-claimant countries [in the South China Sea], and from within and outside the region?

Wu: "It is imperative for CN to maintain its strategic determination, avoid being "led by the nose" by unilateralism and adventurism, gain the initiative in the SCS game b/w China and the US.

"First, China should remove interference and unswervingly push forward negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) so that it can become a true "anchor for peace and stability" in the SCS." CN should seize the opportunity of the COC negotiations to establish a set of rules & norms

"of behavior for all parties in and outside the SCS on "what can and cannot be done", so as to restrain the unilateral actions of the claimant countries at sea, and at the same time reduce the influence of the US and other extraterritorial factors.

"Second, China should promote soft power and hard power build-up in the SCS and be more proactive in controlling the development of maritime situations. In terms of soft power build-up, civilianizing [the opposite of militarizing] and the provision of international public goods

"should guide the construction of facilities on the Nansha islands and reefs, responding to the demands of the international community and demonstrating the image of a responsible regional power.

"CN can use the three major reefs in Nansha [Nansha governs the islands and reefs of the disputed Spratly Islands], which have a large land area and are built with airport runways, as a vehicle to bring into play the administrative jurisdictional functions of the Nansha District

"(established on April 18, 2020), and carry out civilianization of scientific research, education, and ecological and environmental protection on its islands and reefs. Among them, Meiji [Mischief] Reef can be considered as an "int'l tourism open island" for tourism development.

"In terms of hard power, CN needs to integrate its existing maritime forces and carry out maritime capability building with an eye to the evolving style of future maritime warfare.

"In response to the regular military deployments, frequent military activities and naval and air operations of the United States and its allies and partners in the SCS, it is necessary for CN to promote the construction of counter-reconnaissance, counter-deterrence and

"counter-intelligence gathering capabilities and accelerate the formation of strategic deterrence to achieve the multiple purposes of safeguarding sovereignty, maritime rights, security and strategic interests in response to the demands of future warfare patterns.

"Third, promote the implementation of practical maritime coop under the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea [2012], and enlarge the "cake" of common interests between CN and ASEAN countries in the SCS through coop in maritime governance.

"Fourth, a new round of "legal warfare" should be the top priority in all aspects of work related to the SCS. Once Vietnam resorts to arbitration or court over our maritime disputes, and as the negative impact of the Philippines' SCS arbitration case continues to expand,

"a new round of "legal warfare" seems inevitable. It is necessary for CN to make advance plans in terms of talent pool, research on relevant laws and regulations, weighing the pros and cons, and collecting evidence chains, etc.

"In particular, it should strengthen research on historical rights and the 9-Dash Line, and propose a more convincing and comprehensive narrative representation of historical rights in the SCS based on international law that is acceptable to the international community.

"Fifth, explore the establishment of a risk prevention and control mechanism for potential conflicts between competing major powers in the South China Sea.

"It is necessary for China and the United States to explore a new, more effective and stable mechanism in the South China Sea to prevent exchanges of fire between the two armies."
/End

Source: http://www.aisixiang.com/data/124856.html
Of interest to @AndrewSErickson @geoff_p_wade @LokmanKaradag1

Also, check out this great thread on Wu Shicun and his United Front work by @MattSchrader_DC: https://twitter.com/MattSchrader_DC/status/1087049191791181825?s=20%20%20