Four major factors affecting the South China Sea
19/11/14
It is not
debatable that peace and stability in the South China Sea
plays an important role for the security and prosperity of the region in
particular and globalization in general. However, in 2014 the South
China Sea has had the most complicated developments during the
past decades. Security and safety of navigation and aviation in the South China Sea were seriously threatened. It is also the
first time some incidents have occurred but they are very serious, prolonged
time, a deluge of evolution and attracted attention in the region and beyond.
There are incidents that occurred but were repeated with greater intensity and
pace than before. Particularly this year, there has been a changing nature and
natural mutation status was not intact anymore. The big drawback of this
situation is that the trust between stakeholders declined, the hope of the
people in the region on a peace South China Sea,
cooperation and developmentwere eroded by concerns.
In the South China Sea, environment is increasingly degraded,
the marine resources are declining and status quo is slowly being changed.
Scholars
have identified four major factors affecting the South
China Sea: The first is the change in the calculation of some
countries on the strategic interests of the parties and the balance of power
between the country. The second is the rise of nationalism in all parties,
including the nationalist extremists in some countries. The third is the impact
of competition and forces gathering between the major powers; The fourth is a
disagreement in the interpretation and application of international law in the South China Sea. The increase in the number and intensity
of the military operations and paramilitaries in the South China Sea also led
to tensions in the South China Sea.
The
situation in the South China Sea next year would
be even more complicated. Inevitably will certainly occur if stakeholders
unrestrain and lack of collaborative effort. Therefore, the international
community has been increasingly concerned over the situation in the South China Sea and wished to handle disputes
satisfactorily. We can say that the principle of settling disputes through
peaceful means on the basis of international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS,
respect the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC ) and
proceed to the Code of conduct (COC), do not conduct operations to further
complicate the situation. That all has become a common language and require of
the international community to the parties involved in the disputes in the South China Sea.
Mr. Myint
Thu, Deputy Director of ASEAN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Myanmar, the incumbent chairman of ASEAN also confirmed that maintaining peace,
stability and prosperity in the South China Sea
is a commom concern. According to Myint Thu, in the role of ASEAN chairman, South China Sea issue has always been a top priority.
ASEAN leaders have issued many statements emphasizing the importance of peace,
stability and maritime security in the region as well as the importance of
complying with the DOC, Declaration of six Principles on the South
China Sea issue. Mr. Myint Thu reiterated request of the ASEAN
Foreign Ministers on relevant parties to refrain, not threats and use of force
in settling disputes and accelerate negotiations towards COC. Declaration of
the ASEAN Summit continued to assert on ASEAN’s desire and agreed to promote
measures for “early harvest” in order to better control the situation in the South China Sea.
According
to scholars, there are two factors that help promoting cooperation in the South
China Sea which are the demand for natural resources to develop economy
including energy security, management and development of marine resources and
protect the security, safety and freedom of navigation on the international
maritime route. The field is thought to be promising cooperation as fisheries,
marine environmental protection, security, maritime safety and search and
rescue at sea.
All comments [ 10 ]
Progress on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea and urges the group's members to peacefully resolve their maritime disputes with China.
We expressed our concerns over recent developments in the South China Sea, which have increased tensions in the area.
We reaffirmed the importance of regional cooperation in maintaining peace and stability, promoting maritime security and safety, and the freedom of navigation, including in and overflight above the South China Sea.
We reaffirmed the collective commitments of ASEAN member states and China to peace, stability and maritime security and for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety.
We noted progress on negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) and underscored the importance of maintaining the momentum of negotiations and working expeditiously towards the early conclusion of the COC.
China and ASEAN have been working on a conduct code for more than a decade but have made little progress. They reached a non-binding declaration of conduct more than a decade ago.
The South China Sea issue "remains sensitive and complicated for some countries in the region because they don’t want to fracture their relationships with China, a country that is the key business partner
the most important thing for ASEAN and China was to create an atmosphere conducive for COC talks.
The ASEAN summit and other summits with world leaders would present a good opportunity to address pressing issues facing the region and globe.
ASEAN has the different forms of governing its own nations — some are communists, dictatorships, democratic. ... All these are the barriers of finding common goal to solve the South China Sea.
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