South China Sea doesn't need unnecessary tension: HK's former top official

Tung Chee-Hwa,,Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, addresses keynote speech at the Public International Law Colloquium on Maritime Disputes Settlement at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on July, 15 2016.[Photo by Roy Liu/ China Daily]

We do not need unnecessary geopolitical tension in this region, urged Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Hong Kong Chief Executive. Countries need to be focused on peaceful development and create better life for the people in the area, he said.

He also urged the United States to play a positive role in the region, adding that the US should persuade the government of the Philippines to come back to the negotiating table.

Tung was speaking at an international colloquium on maritime dispute settlement in Hong Kong on Friday.

More than 200 legal professionals, academics and government officials from major countries and regions of the world sat together to share their views on the law of the sea and try to find a proper mechanism to resolve maritime disputes.

The event is the first major international forum held after the Arbitral Tribunal appointed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Tuesday ruled in favor of the Philippines in a South China Sea arbitration case unilaterally filed by the island country against China.

The two-day events, organized by the Chinese Society of International Law and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, will focus on four topics covering both substantive and procedural issues of maritime dispute settlement.

Li Shishi, president of Chinese Society of International Law, said the settlement of maritime dispute requires not only the political consensus of the governments but also the contribution of academia in order to forge consensus on international law in the region.