Just a few days ago, the 19th annual meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Forum kicked off in beautiful Qingdao.
This biennial naval event not only attracted the attention of the world, but also allowed the Chinese Navy to stand on the world stage again.
It is remarkable that this forum is expected to introduce a new rule on the marine activities of drones, which will undoubtedly add a strong touch to China's maritime rulemaking.
Philippines absence: Opportunity is rare, loss will not come again
However, there was one country whose absence stood out at this grand conference – the Philippines.
When naval officers from 29 countries around the world gathered to discuss maritime issues, the Philippines chose to pass up the opportunity.
You know, this is a forum with great influence in the global naval community, and all countries have sent high-level delegations to participate.
The absence of the Philippines has given rise to more speculation about its attitude and stance on maritime affairs.
Perhaps, the Philippines has its own considerations and difficulties.
But in any case, this is a unique opportunity to work with other countries to discuss and develop maritime rules.
The absence of the Philippines has undoubtedly affected its voice in maritime affairs to a certain extent.
China-led: A new chapter in maritime rules
At the same time, China's performance at the forum has attracted much attention.
As the host, China has not only made great efforts to make the conference a success, but is also expected to lead the formulation of a new rule on drone ocean activities at this forum.
This will once again be China's key role in the formulation of maritime rules, following the Rules for Unplanned Encounters at Sea.
The rapid development and widespread application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have brought new challenges to ocean management.
How to ensure the safe flight of UAVs over the ocean and avoid conflicts with other sea and air activities has become a common concern of all countries.
As one of the important development countries of UAV technology, China has a wealth of technical and practical experience, so it has a unique advantage in formulating relevant rules.
Looking to the future: the improvement and development of ocean rules
With the continuous emergence of new platforms for sea and air activities such as unmanned aerial vehicles, the improvement and development of maritime rules has become an urgent task.
This year's Western Pacific Naval Forum provides a stage for China to display its strength and wisdom, and also lays the foundation for China to play a greater role in maritime affairs.
Of course, creating new maritime rules will not be easy.
It requires consultation, compromise and efforts among all countries.
However, we believe that with the active promotion of China and other countries, the future maritime rules will be more perfect, fairer and more reasonable.