Prof. Guo Xuetang, Deputy Dean of the School of Law and Director ofthe Research Centre for South Asia and Indian Ocean Studiesattended the third Indian Ocean Dialogue in Padang, Indonesiaorganized by the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). The Dialoguebrought together over 80 officials from 19 Member States and 6Dialogue Partners as well as academics from think tanks andrepresentatives from the civil society.
The theme was Addressing Maritime Security Challenges in the IndianOcean through Enhanced Regionalism. Topics concerning Chinaincluded rules-based regionalism in the Indian Ocean, piracy andarmed robbery, illicit trafficking and maritime terrorism, the roleof naval powers in enhancing security in the Indian Ocean, andenergy in the Indian Ocean. The Dialogue ended with the issuance ofPadang Consensus.
IORA is the only organization for economic cooperation in theIndian Ocean Rim. China is one of the dialogue partners. The firstDialogue and second Dialogue were held in September 2014 andSeptember 2015 in India and Australia respectively.