Pathfinder Foundation links up with National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan, China

The Centre for Law of the Sea (CLS) of the Pathfinder Foundation has linked up with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) located in Haikou in Hainan Province in China. The Centre for Law of the Sea was established in January 2018 by the Pathfinder Foundation which is headed by Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage. 

The National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) was originally founded in 1996 as Hainan Research Institute for South China Sea Studies. In July 2004, the institute was renamed National Institute for South China Sea Studies and given the responsibility to expand its academic partnerships. In the recent years, NISCSS has expanded itself internationally and in 2014, Institute for China-America Studies (ICAS) was launched in Washington D.C. with the support of the NISCSS-affiliated Hainan Nanhai Research Foundation. The ICAS is an independent think tank focusing on key issues relating to US-China relations. 

Director Colombage visited NISCSS at the invitation of the President of the institute, Wu Shicun and delivered two lectures titled ‘Belt and Road Initiative and Opportunities and Challenges: World view and Sri Lankan Perceptions’ and ‘Indo-pacific Construct: Geostrategic Competition, Convergences and Dilemma’. Admiral Colombage highlighted the potential and challenges impacting on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He highlighted the world view on BRI, how Sri Lanka perceives the same and described the asymmetry in investment capabilities between China and participating countries. 

Further, he emphasised the need for China and recipient countries to be mindful of possible negative consequences of this vast infrastructure project and suggested possible way forward to address such concerns. He emphasised the need for capacity building and training for skilled jobs locally to handle the mega projects. Discussing the Indo-Pacific construct, Admiral Colombage explained the implications of terminology and its interpretation by different countries and highlighted the need for collaborative efforts for a secure maritime environment, freedom of maritime commerce and freedom of navigation and overfly in the Indo-Pacific Region and stressed on the need for a rule based maritime order. 

Admiral Colombage called on President of NISCSS Dr. Wu Shicun and Deputy Director, Division of International Exchange Zhang Xinyue and held discussions to charter the way forward for the two institutions to work together.