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Document: Conduct for Unplanned Encounters at Sea

The stage from the 14th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) in Qingdao, China

The stage from the 14th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) in Qingdao, China

The following is the April, 2014 version of the multi-national Conduct for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) signed by 21 Pacific nations at the 14th Western Pacific Naval Symposium in Qingdao, China. CUES is a series of non-binding rules-of-the-road to prevent an escalation of tensions between different militaries at sea.

  • Craig Chipley

    Appeasement. It has always worked before. Hard to understand our foreign policy. While China unilaterally imposes unlawful ADIZ’s and builds islands on disputed territory we agree to navigate in a friendly manner?

  • Jin Defang

    China has already said it won’t necessarily obey the CUES guidelines. Since it is the power most likely to take provocative actions at sea, this limits the usefulness of the document.

  • Richard Zamberlan

    It provides a clear set of signals to deescalate naval encounters. The US used a similar system with the Russians during the Cold War.

    We have been using CUES informally for decades with Iran and China.

    If the Chinese fail to respond to multiple attempts to hail via CUES, english (internationally agreed upon language for maritime traffic deconfliction), or Chinese (if we have a sailor who can speak the appropriate dialect). It gives the US Navy Captain more information to determine the PLA (N)s intent.

    Just because the PLA(N) is acting in a provocative way it could be caused by a number of issues: equipment malfunction, incompetence, attempts to provoke us, defense of a specific area, or they simply could be hostile.

    Ultimately, the US will be judged more critically than China. Therefore the burden of proof remains with USN ships to show foreign navies acted inappropriately or aggressively before any action was taken.

  • Craig Chipley

    Interesting viewpoint. One that China can use to impose its will to unlawfully gain control of vast areas of resources it does not own.

  • Secundius

    What, people seeing rod’s again? When you can explain them, then you can explain all the other mysteries of the universe!!!