In an exclusive interview with China-ASEAN Observer (COA), Shada Islam, Founder and Managing Director, New Horizons Project, Belgium, highlighted the importance of multilateralism in maritime governance when discussing regional ocean cooperation. She emphasized that maritime governance is a challenge that requires a holistic approach

Global ocean governance is facing many new challenges. What do you think is the most pressing issue at present?

Shada Islam: We’re living in a world of geopolitical tensions. The multilateral rules-based order lies in tatters. There’s a lot of talk about confrontation. There are wars going on. In all of this mix, there’s a lot of anger and frustration among people, geopolitical rivalries between states. And we’re forgetting that we are part of one humanity. This planet is shared by everyone, and we have an obligation, a responsibility to humanity and to our planet. Climate change and ocean governance and fighting poverty, ensuring that everybody has food to eat, including from the seas, for me, these are crucial problems that responsible leaders and responsible countries should not forget. And ocean governance, maritime cooperation, working together to prevent climate change means working on making sure that our oceans are clean, that our oceans have enough food, and that there is no pollution anywhere.

So I think all of this really is connected. In this world that we live in, we look at problems in a very, very silo-like way. One track is this, and one track is this, and one track is this. In fact, in our world, everything is connected. And ocean governance, for me, is a problem that needs to be dealt with in a holistic way.

What new multilateral framework or approach do you think the Global Governance Initiative provides for addressing shared challenges?

Shada Islam: It is desperately needed that we have new initiatives, and I was very pleased to see that President Xi Jinping has come up with the Global Governance Initiative. He came up with it at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in September this year (2025). And it comes at a time when, as I said, we are living through a very strained moment, a moment of tension, where the old world order is being dismantled by many countries, especially in the West, and the new order, where the Global South multi-polarity is the norm, that order is not yet in place.

So we’re living in a moment of transition where people need to be responsible. I think the GGI talks about this and talks about the need for responsibility and creating a world that is more equal, where all countries have a say in how the world is fashioned and how we operate. So initiatives of this kind, and I wish there would be more from leaders across the world, we need to hear. We need to hear the voices of the Global South. I think this is extremely important.

How should countries’ responsibilities be defined to ensure the stability and fairness of global ocean governance?

Shada Islam: What is true for what happens on earth, on ground, where we have all kinds of cooperation treaties, people working together, trying to really stabilize some very, very difficult issues, trying to change the way the climate is going, to fight global warming. So the same kind of collaboration, the same kind of working together needs to be done, I think, also, when it comes to preserving our oceans, making sure our oceans are clean, making sure that there is equality in sharing our resources from the oceans, making sure that the research and development that is going on in marine biology, marine environment, all of these are done also in an equitable manner that no one country dominates the other. So I think the idea of Blue Partnerships, Blue Economy Partnerships that China is working on, that the European Union also has on its agenda.

And in fact, the European Union and China have signed a Blue Partnership Agreement in 2018. I think those kinds of collaborative efforts are extremely important when countries come together to share their experiences, to share their histories, to share their innovations, to share their experimental nature of some of their ideas, and to work together. Because once again, “One Planet, One People”.

What new opportunities and challenges do you foresee for China-EU economic cooperation?

Shada Islam: So there is a great deal of economic cooperation going on. There’s a very buoyant trade and a very buoyant investment between China and the European Union. We are very strong economic partners. The problem is that strong economic partners also have a lot of disagreements. This is normal. This happens across the world. I think the challenge for all of us is to make sure that even though we disagree and we may have areas that we do not absolutely agree on, we can still work together in other areas. So the economic cooperation is doing very well in terms of trade and investments. But there is concern in Europe about becoming overly dependent on Chinese semiconductors, for instance, and on Chinese electric vehicles. And these are questions that have to be dealt with, I hope, in a cool-headed way. But having these disagreements is normal. And I don’t think having disagreements means that we cannot work together in areas such as global governance, multilateralism, ocean governance, maritime multilateral order. There is a scope for a lot of work to do together.
We are a global player, the European Union. China is a global player. And we are stabilizing forces in a world, which is very much in disorder at the moment. And I think when the United States is retrenching and making sure that America is great, again, maybe China and Europe can work together to make the world great again, together.

How can we strengthen young people’s mutual understanding and friendship to advance long-term cooperation and development between China and EU?

Shada Islam: I think there’s a real hunger in China and in Europe to have our young people, among our young people, to know more about each other. Our young people are looking for new kinds of friendships, new adventures. They want to learn about other cultures. I teach at the College of Europe, in the Netherlands and in Poland. And I speak to my students about China. And a number of them are really curious and intrigued about China. They want to visit. They don’t have the kind of prejudices and the kind of fear of the unknown that the older people do. I find that if China and the European Union did more for the exchange of students. China has removed visas for quite a number of people. For instance, I don’t need a visa to come to China anymore for a certain period of time. All of this encourages people-to-people contacts.

I think in the end, as I said, we are one people, we have one planet. Our children, younger people really need to get to know each other. I know that people in Europe are learning Chinese very frequently. They go to schools, and they want to know more about China. They use Chinese appliances, they use TikTok. That’s how they get their messages across. So there is a lot of connection between people. I don’t think we should allow geopolitics to get in the way of people-to-people contacts.

What are the key ideas that you believe best capture the ideal aims of regional maritime cooperation?

Shada Islam: I think cooperation, of course, is very important, because we know there are disputes, we know there are conflicts, but I think what makes us human beings and not animals is the fact that we can get around, we can work together. Cooperation for me is essential. Rules and multilateralism in the oceans field exist, right? But I think we need stronger rules and more preventive rules and more commitment to actually live by the rules. So multilateralism in the oceans, I think, is very important.
And then it is to take risks. I think we live in an environment where people are sometimes stuck behind old ways of doing things. And when I come to Hainan, I’ve been coming now for 10 years, almost every year. I see the changes. People are growing, new kinds of machines, new kinds of vegetables, and new kinds of agriculture and fish culture, daring to take risks and not being stuck in the old way of doing things. I think that’s what progress is about. I think Hainan is a very good example of people who have dared to imagine and dare to move beyond just words into action.
Post Views: 46