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UP CIDS AltDev and CSOs Explore Alternative Approaches to Territorial Disputes

Photo: The event speakers, (from right to left) Dr. Eduardo Tadem, Leomar Doctolero, Merci Angeles, and Pablo Rosales, during the public forum held on 12 September 2024, at UP CIDS.

The Program on Alternative Development (AltDev), in collaboration with various civil society organizations (CSOs), organized a public forum on 12 September 2024, titled “Peoples’ Alternative Approaches to Addressing Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea and Beyond.”

The forum aimed to explore alternative approaches to territorial disputes grounded in principles of the commons, shared regional identity, joint development and resource sharing, people-to-people solidarity, and addressing the needs of affected communities—focusing on collaborative solutions over nationalism, sovereignty, and rigid state boundaries.

The discussion examined territorial disputes across Northeast and Southeast Asia, including: (1) the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands contested by China, Taiwan, and Japan; (2) the Dokdo (Takeshima) Islands dispute between Korea and Japan; (3) disputes in the South China Sea involving the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia; (4) the Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and Russia; and (5) the Pratas (Dongsha) Islands conflict between China and Taiwan in the northeastern South China Sea.

From these cases, five key approaches were proposed for resolving such disputes:

  • Establishing an agreement of cooperation. Drawing on the work of Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, the common pool resource (CPR) concept emphasizes collective action in managing shared resources. It advocates for the establishment of cooperative agreements to sustainably govern and equally share the yields of natural resources.
  • Preserving for future generations and developing countries. This principle, rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), asserts that certain areas and resources should be preserved for the benefit of all humanity, especially future generations and developing countries. This stands in contrast to the “freedom of the seas” doctrine favored by more developed nations like the United States, which promotes unrestricted exploitation of these areas.
  • Joint development and management. This approach proposes joint development, management, and equitable resource distribution in contested region. By fostering regional cooperation, it aims to shift focus away from territorial nationalism, which often escalates conflict.
  • Transforming disputed areas. This proposal aims to transform contested islands and waters into “spheres of border interaction,” allowing for free movement and engagement, as well as “subsistence spheres” where neighboring communities can share resources, and “demilitarized zones” to reduce tensions.
  • Sharing regional commons. Scholar-activist Rasti Delizo suggests transforming the South China Sea into a shared regional commons, where maritime resources are collectively managed for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Additionally, the event featured speakers such as Dr. Eduardo Tadem, AltDev Convenor; Pablo Rosales of PANGISDA Pilipinas; Merci Angeles from the Stop the War Coalition Philippines; and Pang Delgra of Partido Sosyalista.

The forum was co-organized by AltDev, the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (ACSC/APF) Philippine Process, Home Workers Network of Southeast Asia (HomeNet SEA), PANGISDA Pilipinas, the Stop the War Coalition Philippines, and Partido Sosyalista.

For more on these alternative approaches, see the article: Transcending Borders: Alternative Approaches to Territorial Disputes.

AltDev is one of the Research Programs of the Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS), of the University of the Philippines (UP)’s research policy unit. Learn more and download FREE policy papers from AltDev.