According to a Xinhua dispatch on September 26, the 9th China-Southeast Asian Countries Marine Cooperation Forum was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 24-25, at The Bazaar Hotel Bangkok, co-hosted by China's Ministry of Natural Resources and Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. More than 200 representatives from over 40 marine management departments, research institutes and universities across China, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries gathered in Bangkok for in-depth discussions on marine science and technology cooperation, ocean ecological protection, disaster prevention and blue economy development, further strengthening regional marine science and technology cooperation. It was the ninth meeting since the China-Southeast Asia marine cooperation mechanism was established.
The opening ceremony was jointly chaired by Sun Shuxian, Vice Minister of China's Ministry of Natural Resources and concurrently head of China's National Oceanic Administration, and Darika Saranket, an advisor to Thailand's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. The forum itself was co-chaired by Wei Zexun, deputy director of the First Institute of Oceanography under China's Ministry of Natural Resources, and Dr. Pinsak Suraswadi, director-general of Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. Thai representatives were reported as saying attendees included both marine policymakers and frontline researchers, all working toward translating marine research findings into practical policy and action — remarks seen as reflecting the shared will of China and Southeast Asian countries to keep advancing marine cooperation.
The forum was organized around four thematic sessions: ocean and climate observation, forecasting and applications; marine ecosystem protection and restoration; marine disaster early warning and mitigation; and marine science and technology research together with management policy, the blue economy and sustainable ocean development. Together, the four themes broadly cover the key marine environmental issues of the zone where the Pacific and Indian Oceans converge, including the Andaman Sea and the South China Sea. Experts shared findings on the impact of climate change on the region's marine environment, the latest research on disaster prevention and mitigation, and case studies on rare marine species protection and coral reef surveys, illustrating the practical value of cross-border scientific cooperation for the public.
Ahead of the main forum, China and Thailand held the 15th China-Thailand Joint Workshop on Marine Science and Technology on September 22-23, where researchers from both countries exchanged the latest findings on ocean observation, climate modeling, coastal zone management and biodiversity conservation, laying the groundwork for this year's forum. Having run for 15 consecutive editions, this bilateral workshop mechanism is one of the longest-running and most consistent channels of marine science and technology exchange between China and Thailand.
The institutional foundation of China-Thailand marine science and technology cooperation dates back to April 2012, when China's State Oceanic Administration and Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment signed an agreement in Beijing to jointly establish the Thailand-China Joint Laboratory for Climate and Marine Ecosystem; its temporary office began operating on June 6, 2013, at the Phuket Marine Biological Center. The laboratory is run jointly by China's First Institute of Oceanography and the Phuket Marine Biological Center under Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, and has long carried out cooperative projects on the marine environment and climate change, coral reef monitoring and endangered marine species research. It marked its tenth anniversary in Xiamen, China, in 2023, and stands as one of the key bilateral research platforms underpinning this year's forum.
The China-Southeast Asian Countries Marine Cooperation Forum is a regional cooperation mechanism jointly launched in 2013 by China and the maritime-affairs departments of neighboring countries, aimed at holding regular meetings to advance policy dialogue and technical exchange between China and Southeast Asian countries on marine scientific research, disaster early warning, ecological protection and the blue economy. It has since held several editions: the 7th forum took place in Beihai, Guangxi, China, in 2021; the 8th was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 28, 2024, co-hosted by China's Ministry of Natural Resources and Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) under the theme "Strengthening Ocean and Climate Research Cooperation, Accelerating the UN Ocean Decade," drawing more than 200 representatives from over 70 management departments, research institutes and marine-related enterprises across China and nine Southeast Asian countries. The Bangkok gathering marks the mechanism's ninth meeting since its founding.
The forum mechanism is closely linked to several marine research platforms China has built in Beihai, Guangxi. On September 10, 2018, the China-ASEAN Marine Science and Technology Joint Research and Development Center and the Fourth Institute of Oceanography under China's Ministry of Natural Resources were unveiled together in Beihai — the first national-level comprehensive marine research institution in Guangxi, which Chinese authorities said would help expand marine exchange and cooperation with ASEAN countries and promote sustainable development of the region's marine economy. The 7th edition of the forum was later held in Beihai, a choice connected to this local marine research infrastructure. Taken together, from the forum mechanism's founding in 2013, through the 2015 "China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Year," to the 2018 opening of the Beihai research center, China's marine science and technology cooperation with Southeast Asian countries has followed a fairly continuous policy thread, of which this year's Bangkok forum is the latest chapter.
Thailand sits on the Indochina Peninsula, bordered on one side by the Andaman Sea and, on the other, close to the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, while also guarding the northern approach to the Strait of Malacca — a distinctive geographic position for regional ocean governance and disaster early warning. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage along Thailand's Andaman coast, and marine disaster early warning and mitigation have remained a continued priority for Thai marine agencies ever since, echoing the relevant session at this year's forum. China and Thailand have maintained close marine science and technology cooperation over the years; beyond their joint laboratory and 15 editions of the bilateral joint workshop, the two sides have also built up years of cooperation on specific projects such as coral reef conservation and marine biodiversity. Thailand's hosting of this 9th forum through its Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reflects the country's increasingly active role in Southeast Asia's marine affairs cooperation.
Marine science and disaster-prevention cooperation is a relatively low-sensitivity, technically oriented field within China-ASEAN relations that has continued to draw sustained attention from both sides in recent years: 2015 was designated the "China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Year," and since then the two sides have used the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund to support the building of several joint laboratories and aquaculture technology-transfer centers, forming the basis for a series of institutionalized cooperation mechanisms that include this year's Bangkok forum. Observers say forums of this kind provide China and Southeast Asian countries a stable, long-term platform for scientific and policy dialogue on climate change, marine disaster prevention and blue economy development. Even against a backdrop in which some maritime-rights issues remain contested, technical exchange between research institutions and management agencies has continued to move forward with a degree of independence, helping deepen regional marine science and technology cooperation and supporting implementation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
News reports did not indicate that this year's forum produced a joint statement or any signed agreement; its main outcome was the exchange of research findings and discussion of cooperation intentions among scholars and experts. As Southeast Asian coastal countries' needs for marine disaster early warning, climate adaptation and blue economy development continue to grow, the China-Southeast Asia network of marine science and technology cooperation — built around the forum, bilateral joint laboratories and joint workshops — is expected to keep playing a long-term role in regional ocean governance.
