The recently appointed Director-General of the WTO, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala – the first female and first African in the role – noted that “there is an increasing loss of confidence in the ability of the WTO to produce results,” and that there is a need for the WTO to change their approach “from debate and rounds of questions to delivering results” in order to achieve success. On July , , Dr Okonjo-Iweala secured members commitment to a draft text as a basis for negotiations, raising hopes that a final deal can be struck this year.

This process crystalised the essential role of bilateral consultation during the cooperative process. Prior to convening participants from the five countries, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue first undertook detailed individual consultation with participants from each country. This helped ensure the meetings and overall process remained consistent with the priorities of each country and focused on what is politically possible.

To overcome this issue, we approached the communities one-by-one and held discussions with them in partnership with the Department of Fisheries – as a result, we were able to gain a better understanding of the fishers’ needs, and show how such a tool could help them. Involving fishers in the design of PeskAAS highlighted the need and mechanism for frequent feedback via municipal fisheries officers, which also helped establish local acceptance.

There is an ongoing struggle over which states have the right to control access to and resources of the South China Sea. Maritime rights or sovereignty over various features in South China Sea are asserted by a range of states including Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. More than a mere dispute over resources, countries see defending their rights as essential to protecting their national security and affirming their national honour.

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