Expert: Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence can help solve disputes

A senior Chinese expert on the South China Sea said the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence can still play a role in helping solve disputes among countries, especially those related to territorial and maritime rights and interests.

Wu Shicun, chairman of the Huayang Research Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance and founding president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, made the remark on the sideline of an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the principles in Beijing on Friday.

Wu said that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government has been committed to handling disputes with relevant neighboring countries over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests through negotiation and consultation.

"This is a vivid example of how China has implemented the five principles," he said.

China has settled land boundary issues peacefully with 12 of its 14 neighbors along its land borders through negotiation and consultation, and delimited the maritime boundary in the Beibu Bay with Vietnam.

Speaking of the current tension at Ren'ai Reef on the South China Sea, Wu said it is still necessary to advocate the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and promote the spirit of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

"Without doing so, the conflict could escalate as differences may widen," he said.

Wu said that in today's world, the five principles, namely, mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence, are all being challenged more or less.

"That's why it is still of contemporary significance to commemorate the five principles 70 years after they were first put forward," he said.