CCRS hosts lecture on international law’s role in Indo-Pacific dispute resolution

The Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS) hosted yesterday a public lecture on “The Roles of International Law in Promoting Peaceful Dispute Settlement in the Indo-Pacific,” highlighting the region’s growing geopolitical and geoeconomic significance.Held at Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh, the lecture featured Shotaro Hamamoto, Professor at Kyoto University’s School of Government/Graduate School of Law, and Pou Sothirak, a retired academic/diplomat and Senior Advisor to CCRS. The event brought together around 50 participants, including government officials, diplomats, think tank representatives, and researchers.

In his welcome remarks, Him Raksmey, Executive Director of CCRS, said that the Indo-Pacific is now a global focal point of geopolitical and economic shifts.

“This gravity presents with opportunities of potential growth and advancement, but at the same time, the region is at risk of tensions, confrontations and potential open conflicts,” he said.

He attributed these risks to the decline of the rules-based international order, increasing great-power contestation, rising militarism, weakening international laws and humanitarian principles, and the limited effectiveness of regional and global institutions.

Raksmey also pointed to ongoing regional flashpoints, including complex border disputes, the Myanmar crisis, the South China Sea and East China Sea tensions, the Korean Peninsula situation, and the Cross-Strait issue between China and Taiwan. These, he noted, are further exacerbated by international conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and humanitarian crises in Gaza.

“Amidst this very challenging time, peaceful dispute settlements are important to contributing to a more peaceful Indo-Pacific,” he said. “Rules and norms of international law as enshrined in the United Nations Charter and relevant international instruments are vital to help to broaden manoeuvring spaces for small and middle states.”

In his introductory remarks, Ambassador Sothirak emphasised that states must uphold the rule of law as a durable system of justice, built on accountability, just laws, open governance, and impartial legal systems.

“These values are supposed to be aligned in accordance with internationally accepted standards and norms, in consultation with a panel of leading experts worldwide such as economists, political scientists, legal scholars, sociologists and historians,” he said.

He warned that disregard for international law remains rampant in the Indo-Pacific, leading to devastating conflicts, human suffering, nuclear proliferation, and illegal military aggression.

“Flashpoints concerning sovereignty claims are brewing hot with rising tensions between and among the contending states. If the rule of law doesn’t prevail, World War III could erupt, inflicting grave consequences for all humanity,” he said.

Prof Hamamoto provided insights into the principle of pacific settlement of disputes, referencing several ongoing conflicts in the Indo-Pacific.

He elaborated on interstate arbitration through the Court of Arbitration, the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and how the World Trade Organization (WTO) adjudicates disputes between member states.