"Tides & Voices" Salon: Consolidating the Foundation for Peace and Development in the South China Sea Through Dialogue and Cooperation

BEIJING, June 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 5, the "Tides & Voices" salon convened at China Media Group's Sanya Studio. Hosted by the CMG Chinese Language Programming Center, this event brought together Chinese and international experts from the CMG Expert Committee on South China Sea Studies. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the South China Sea governance and the reshaping of the Asian security order. They advocated that all parties should continue to build consensus, deepen cooperation, and jointly safeguard peace, stability, and shared prosperity in the South China Sea.

As the year 2026 marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, as well as the fifth anniversary of the completion of China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, experts noted that although external forces continue to hype up differences and divisions and exaggerate security threats, dialogue and cooperation remain the mainstream in the development of the South China Sea.

Zhou Jian, former Representative for Boundary and Ocean Affairs of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that unlike some external countries that stoke confrontation and pursue zero-sum games, China and ASEAN have consistently adhered to pragmatic cooperation and resolved differences through shared development. This cooperation model has become a crucial pillar for stabilizing the situation in the South China Sea.

Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Institute of Peaceful Development Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, introduced the positive achievements in China-ASEAN maritime cooperation, drawing on the short film "Shared Waters, Shared Futures" screened at the salon. He noted that China and ASEAN are currently carrying out concrete cooperation in multiple areas such as eco-fisheries, the blue economy, port logistics and maritime search and rescue, which has effectively benefited the people of countries along the South China Sea.

Li Kaisheng, Vice President of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, stressed that countries within the region are the true custodians of regional security. He called on all countries to break away from the narrow mindset of relying solely on military build-ups for security and instead establish and practice the concepts of common security and cooperation.

Malaysian scholar Peter TC Chang shared the historical origins of "the migration to Southeast Asia" as depicted in the Chinese film "Dear You." He suggested expanding exchanges between Chinese and Malaysian youth in areas such as study tours and environmental protection practices, and further consolidating bilateral friendly ties through closer people-to-people exchanges.

The "Tides & Voices" salon was academically supported by the CMG Expert Committee on South China Sea Studies, aiming to leverage the power of media and think tanks to build regional consensus, properly manage maritime differences, and pursue peaceful development.

SOURCE China Media Group