The South China Sea, a huge marine ecosystem with an area of 3.3 million square kilometers located at the southern tip of China's mainland, has attracted great attention from the international community because of its rich fishery resources.
It surrounds Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and other countries, has more than 20 rivers entering the sea, and has a mainland coastline of 4,823 kilometers.
The South China Sea has many sub-ecosystems and habitats, and its tropical climate and abundant precipitation provide an excellent environment for fish to thrive. However, the abundance of fisheries in the South China Sea has also sparked a series of conflicts over maritime economic competition, even to the point of diplomatic tensions and regional security instability.
Against this backdrop, many countries, notably Vietnam and the Philippines, often catch fishermen.
Over the course of history, China's dealings with countries in the South China Sea have been more about interests than territorial disputes. Therefore, the reference to the so-called 'South China Sea issue' is not accurate. "
The abundant oil and gas resources and the demarcation of sea areas in the South China Sea have aroused the attention of neighboring countries, and the competition for fishery resources is particularly fierce. The potential catch of the continental shelf fishery in the northern part of the South China Sea is about 1.21 million tonnes, and the fishing ground in the Beibu Gulf is about 600,000-700,000 tonnes.
The catch of the Spratly Islands is even more staggering, with 7 fish per square kilometer of water5 tons, the economic value of each ton can reach up to 800 US dollars. In addition, the number of marine fish in the South China Sea accounts for 77 of the total number of marine fish in China64%, there are 1064 species of fish organisms on the northern continental shelf, including more than 80 species of major economic fish, 17 species of major economic shrimp, 162 species of major economic algae and more than 150 species of major economic shellfish.
With its abundant resources and excellent quality, the fishery in the South China Sea has become an important factor to attract fishermen from neighboring countries. Fisheries are of great strategic importance to the countries surrounding the South China Sea, and are related to food security, economic efficiency and sovereignty.
For some countries with underdeveloped high-end industries, fishery is an important pillar industry. In the Philippines, the South China Sea accounts for about half of the country's total marine fishery production, and at the same time, the fishery also contributes more than 6% of the country's gross national product.
Vietnam, on the other hand, exports more than US$6.5 billion a year from fisheries, creating more than 5 million jobs and employing millions of people in related industries.
The abundant fishery resources in the South China Sea have attracted the covetousness of neighboring countries, who have illegally controlled and occupied the South China Sea to varying degrees. According to statistics, Indonesia illegally occupied 3Of the 50,000 square kilometers of sea area, Brunei illegally occupies 50,000 square kilometers of sea area, Malaysia actually controls 170,000 square kilometers of sea area, the Philippines illegally occupies 620,000 square kilometers of sea area, and Vietnam illegally occupies up to 1.17 million square kilometers.
These actions pose a threat and wrongdoing to Chinese fishermen.
According to the data, between 1989 and 1998, there were 92 attacks and detentions of Chinese fishermen in the South China Sea, resulting in 31 Chinese fishermen**.
However, in the 21st century, this phenomenon has not been alleviated, and the number of Chinese fishing boats detained has increased, and the rights and interests of tens of thousands of fishermen have been seriously violated.
In fact, fisheries conflicts exist not only between China and the countries in dispute, but also between countries bordering the South China Sea. For example, there have also been frequent incidents of fishing conflicts between Vietnam and the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, and the Philippines and Indonesia.
Indonesia has taken a tough stance on the South China Sea, frequently detaining fishing boats from neighboring countries for "illegal fishing." According to statistics, between late 2014 and April 2016 alone, Indonesia seized 153 fishing boats from Vietnam, the Philippines and China.
On May 21, 2017, Vietnam and Indonesia seized five Vietnamese fishing boats and 11 Vietnamese fishermen after a standoff the Natuna Islands.
Not to be outdone, Vietnam has taken corresponding measures.
Although the countries surrounding the South China Sea have a strong desire for the abundant fishery resources in this area and have taken some drastic measures, China has taken fewer measures to capture fishermen who cross the border than Vietnam and the Philippines.
The South China Sea is a sea area with a special geographical location, spanning 2,000 kilometers from north to south and about 1,000 kilometers from east to west, with an area of 3.3 million square kilometers.
Such geographical characteristics make the South China Sea fishery have the characteristics of public pond resources, i.e., non-exclusive and competitive. Although we have a natural disadvantage in terms of spatial distance, and it is difficult to control the entire South China Sea 100 percent, we are still working hard to manage and protect the fishery resources in the South China Sea.
In the fishery ecosystem of the South China Sea, the existence of non-exclusivity makes it difficult to exclude or limit potential beneficiary countries from the use of fishery resources. The competitiveness is reflected in the long-term plundering of the "warehouse" of resource reserves by the countries surrounding the South China Sea.
In addition, from the perspective of technical capabilities and costs, it is not cost-effective to capture fishermen from the countries concerned that require a lot of human, material and financial resources. For example, Vietnam, which has invaded the South China Sea the most, has a long and narrow territory along the "nine-dash line" on the western side of the South China Sea, which means that the "nine-dash line" can be easily crossed from anywhere in Vietnam into the South China Sea.
However, China is unable to ensure that regulatory monitoring along the route will be carried out at any time and in any place, which will bring huge human and material costs, and it will be difficult to achieve the desired results.
Even if fishermen fishing illegally in the South China Sea are not limited to Vietnam, the Philippines on the western side of the South China Sea, and Malaysia and Indonesia in the south, if fishermen from these countries are caught, in addition to material losses, they will also have a negative impact on Japan's international reputation.
China's regular patrols in the South China Sea are mainly aimed at key sea areas and islands, and at the same time, high-precision and cutting-edge technologies such as drones are used for monitoring. These two aspects are mainly discussed from an objective technical point of view, while legal factors have a more important impact.
The essence of the fishery dispute is the struggle of various countries for maritime sovereignty. Some of the fisheries conflicts in the South China Sea have been caused by the overlap between countries' exclusive economic zones and fishing zones following the implementation of the exclusive economic zone regime of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and some have been triggered by conflicts caused by one country's objection to another country's measures to conserve or manage fishery resources.
Relying solely on the capture of fishermen from other countries cannot fundamentally resolve the fishing conflicts in the South China Sea, and it is unrealistic to try to resolve them by ignoring sovereignty. Modern sovereign societies pay more attention to the actual exercise of sovereignty, which is manifested in the actual control of the state over objects such as territory, resources and residents.
Sovereignty not only indicates the subject of law, but also reflects the initiative of national sovereignty, which is manifested in sovereign rights such as territorial jurisdiction and exclusive rights to resources, as well as the historic right to fish in the territorial waters of another country.
Therefore, in order to resolve the fishery disputes in the South China Sea, it is necessary to first resolve the issue of sovereignty over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, China has the right to demarcate a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone on the islands in the South China Sea, while the sea area between China and the coastal countries around the South China Sea does not exceed 400 nautical miles.
The establishment and exercise of jurisdiction is the most important way to fully demonstrate sovereignty, because jurisdiction is the symbol and embodiment of sovereignty. If a country wants to effectively express its sovereignty over a maritime area, it must first establish jurisdiction over the disputed maritime area.
Jurisdiction can be further divided into legislative jurisdiction and executive jurisdiction.
Legislative jurisdiction is the cornerstone and foundation, which establishes the power of a State to exercise jurisdiction; Executive jurisdiction is the realization and embodiment of legislative jurisdiction, which directly reflects the exercise and maintenance of legislative jurisdiction and is related to the protection and adherence of sovereignty.
In terms of legislative jurisdiction, China's Fisheries Law was amended in 2013, which clearly stipulates that "foreigners and foreign fishing vessels entering the waters under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China to carry out fishery production or fishery resources survey activities must obtain the approval of the relevant competent authorities." ”
Anyone who violates the provisions of this law and enters the waters under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China without authorization to engage in fishery production and fishery resources investigation activities will be forced to leave or expelled, and may be fined less than 500,000 yuan, and in serious cases, the fishing vessel will even be confiscated.
Improved Copy: The shortcomings of the draft are mainly manifested in two aspects: first, the scope of application of the provisions is not clear enough, especially the definition of "all other maritime areas under its jurisdiction", especially whether it applies to the entire South China Sea within the nine-dash line, which still needs to be further clarified; Second, there are no detailed provisions on specific types of punishments, such as "confiscation", "fines", "criminal accountability", etc., which may make it impossible for law enforcement agencies to accurately judge and enforce them in practice, thus affecting the exercise of jurisdiction.
Fishery resources in the South China Sea are in danger of being depleted, but countries are still competing for fishing. According to research, fishery resources in the South China Sea have decreased by 70%-95% since the 50s of the 20th century, and in the 21st century alone, the catch rate has fallen by 66%-75%.
For example, in recent years, the fishery ecological environment in the northern coastal area of the South China Sea, which was originally a high-quality fishing ground, has been seriously damaged, and the fishery resources have shown a young age, miniaturization and low quality, and the fishery resources have declined significantly.
Even more worrying is the continued decline of economically important fish stocks and the declining proportion of fish catches. If these trends are not effectively curbed, there will eventually be no fish to catch in the South China Sea.
In the face of the uncertain future of the South China Sea, it is necessary to take a rational view and cooperate in governance to achieve the sustainable development of fisheries. As a responsible major country, China has always adhered to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, and actively cooperated with Southeast Asian countries, including those in dispute.
In fact, China has already launched institutionalized cooperation with Vietnam on related issues. The Agreement on the Delimitation of the Beibu Gulf and the Agreement on Fishery Cooperation in the Beibu Gulf between China and Vietnam are the first maritime delimitation agreement and fishery cooperation agreement signed by China, as well as the first maritime delimitation agreement with ASEAN countries, especially with countries with maritime territorial disputes.
Subsequently, China has signed fishery cooperation agreements with relevant institutions in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and other countries (regions).
While working together, we must not neglect to safeguard the national interest from a legal perspective. On the one hand, China needs to improve and revise relevant laws and regulations in a timely manner, such as the Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and the Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China.
It is necessary not only to expand the coverage of the law so that it can effectively apply to all relevant sea areas where China claims sovereignty and rights and interests, including the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands, including the nine-dash line, but also to refine the corresponding jurisdictional regulations, and formulate administrative or criminal punishment measures at different levels for different illegal acts and criminal acts.
On the other hand, at the international level, we should exert pressure on relevant countries through diplomatic channels to expose their illegal acts in a timely manner, change the thinking of passively protecting rights and interests, and take the initiative to protect them at the legal level.
In the face of fisheries conflicts, countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines are adept at using international maritime rules such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to justify their illegal actions and promote the "legitimacy" of their actions in the international community.
In response to this behavior, China has adopted a "patch" strategy that not only consumes a lot of energy, but also tends to be in a passive position in the legal confrontation. Therefore, China needs to strengthen law enforcement and use legal tools more skillfully to preempt the strike.
1.Yu Wenquan's article "Multiple Scenarios and Policy Responses to Fishery Conflicts in the South China Sea" was published in Southeast Asian Studies, Issue 4, 2021, which describes the various situations of fishery conflicts in the South China Sea and the corresponding policy options.
2.Shao Lili's "Application of Sovereignty Theory in Fishery Dispute Resolution in the South China Sea" was published in Politics and Law, No. 3, 2018, detailing the application of sovereignty theory in the settlement of fishery disputes in the South China Sea.
3.Huang Mian's research** "Analysis of the Discourse of "Freedom of Navigation" in the South China Sea in China's Diplomacy", published in the 4th issue of Asia-Pacific Security and Ocean Studies in 2017, provides an in-depth study of China's diplomatic discourse strategy on the issue of "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.
4.Zhang Hang's master's degree, "Fisheries Cooperation in the South China Sea and China's Role in the South China Sea: A Case Study of the Beibu Gulf", provides a specific analysis of the role of fisheries cooperation in the South China Sea and China, taking the Beibu Gulf as an example.