China: Naval officers discuss the rules of war at sea

Around 30 senior military officers from 19 countries in the Asia Pacific region as well as ICRC specialists and prominent academic authorities on the law of maritime warfare participate in the workshop.

Mr. Pierre DORBES, Head of the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia cochairs the opening ceremony with the PLA.

In her opening speech, Mrs. Maya HERTIG RANDALL, Assembly Member of the ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, highlights the importance of the ICRC’s engagement with military forces in promoting the Law of Armed Conflict at Sea. “Protection through law is part of the ICRC’s core mandate.To achieve that goal, it’s important to keep continuous dialogues and make the law relevant through case studies and so on.”

Mr. Zarvan Raniero OWSIA, Delegate to the Armed Forces of the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, acts as the director of the workshop. He introduced the ICRC operational identity to participants during the opening lecture.

Mr. Abdul Aziz AZHARI,Delegate to the Armed Forces in the ICRC Regional Delegation For South Asia, speaks to participants at the workshop said that the workshop brought in leading legal experts who can provide both theoretical knowledge as well as operational experiences based on their own military backgrounds. “We continue to develop the content further and hopefully we can make it more and more relevant, so the participants will get clear understanding on how the Law of Armed Conflict applies at sea,” said Mr. Abdul. Formerly a First Admiral and a barrister with the Royal Malaysia Navy, Mr. Abdul delivered a lecture on maritime targeting during the workshop.

Dr. Wolff HEINTSCHEL von HEINEGG, Professor of Europa-Universitat Viadrina in Frakfurt (Oder), Germany, is one of the main authorities in the field of international law. During the workshop, he gave lectures on introduction, the methods and means of the law of naval warfare and current issues in LoAC at sea.

During the workshop, Associate Professor David LETTS from the College of Law in the Australian National University introduces the law of the sea and naval operations, as well as conflict classification to participants.

Mr. Bruno DEMEYERE, Legal Advisor with the ICRC’s Legal Division based in Geneva, gives lectures about humanitarian action and considerations on armed conflict at sea among other topics.

Senior Colonel Wang Haiping, Professor of the Xi’an Teaching District of the Political Academy of National Defence University, gives a presentation on Education and Training on Law of Armed Conflict for PLA Navy.

Mrs. Maya HERTIG RANDALL(C), Assembly Member of the ICRC Headquarters, Major General Zhao Wenhua (R), Vice President and concurrently Provost of the PLA National Defence University, and Major General Tao Chuanming (L), President of the Political Academy of National Defense University sit in the presentation of the ICRC Operational Identity following the opening ceremony on May 8th.

Participants listen to the lecture attentively.

Naval officers take part in group discussions on topics concerning regions of operations at sea.

Mr. Larry MAYBEE, Deputy Head of the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, chairs the closing ceremony where participants received certificates.

Major General Tao Chuanming, President of the Political Academy, National Defense University, congratulates on a complete success of the workshop at the closing ceremony.

The workshop, in its fifth edition, is held in Shanghai from May 8th to 11th. It has previously been heldin Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, during which 100 naval officers from 25 countries took part in the discussions.