On June 5-6, the 7th International Symposium on Scientific and Legal Aspects of the Regimes of the Continental Shelf and the Area, hosted by the SIO and the China Institute for Marine Affairs of the Ministry of Natural Resources, was held in Qingdao. Sun Shuxian, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resource and Director of the State Oceanic Administration, and Miao Deyu, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered speeches. More than 150 people, including representatives from the three major institutions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the International Seabed Authority, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea), the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, and experts and scholars from multiple countries attended the seminar.

Sun Shuxian pointed out that 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As a contracting party to the Convention, China actively builds a blue partnership, pragmatically promotes bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the ocean, fully supports the work of the three major institutions of the Convention, fully participates in the ocean governance mechanisms, consultations and negotiations under the Convention and the United Nations framework, and plays a constructive role in the formulation of international regulations for seabed resource development and the protection of marine biodiversity; Additionally, China initiates multiple major scientific programs such as “Digital Deep-sea Typical Habitats Programme” to support the United Nations “Ocean Decade” initiative and makes positive contributions to accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He hoped to make positive contributions to maintaining a just and reasonable international maritime order and improving the global maritime governance framework through discussions.

Director Fang Yinxia presided over the keynote speech segment of the opening ceremony. Michael W. Lodge, Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority, Tomas Heider, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Aldino Campos, Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, and Aryth, Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, delivered keynote speeches. Scholars from various participating countries focused on the development process, existing problems, and challenges of the regimes of the continental shelf and the area, and conducted sufficient exchanges and discussions from the scientific and legal perspectives.

At the seminar, Academician Li Jiabiao and Researcher Tang Yong from the SIO presided over scientific topics related to the “area” and the continental shelf respectively. Researchers Niu Xiongwei and Wei Xiaodong from the Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, MNR presented the latest progress of the SIO in the geophysical survey of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. Associate Researcher Yin Jie analyzed the rules for delineating the outer limits of the continental shelf from the perspective of comparing treaty law and customary international law. Academician Li Jiabiao summarized all the scientific topics of the seminar and praised the latest progress in continental shelf delimitation technology and the green and intelligent technical standards advocated in the field of deep-sea mining shared by the attending scientists.

The delimitation of the continental shelf and the international seabed mining area have always been one of the scientific fields that the SIO has focused on. After nearly 30 years of continuous research and innovation, a number of groundbreaking results have been achieved. Among them, the results on the delimitation of the continental shelf in the East China Sea won the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and the application of continental shelf delimitation technology, the decision support system research and development and data processing training have all become highlights of China’s marine science and technology cooperation with Africa. As the only international seminar in the world that simultaneously invites the heads of the three major institutions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, the International Symposium on Scientific and Legal Aspects of the Regimes of the Continental Shelf and the Area has gone through seven sessions and has become a globally recognized high-end academic platform in this field. It has not only enhanced exchanges between international organizations, government departments, and experts and scholars, but also played a positive role in deepening the understanding of issues related to the continental shelf and the international seabed area, and promoting the understanding and application of the system of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.