Tuesday 6 Feb.

18
CSIS Lecture Series on Regional Dynamics
“Fisheries and Environmental Cooperation in the South China Sea”

Gregory Poling (CSIS Washington)

Why fisheries?
 Fisheries collapse are the most critical issue
- Accounts for 12% of global fish catch
- Officially employs 3.7 million people
- Total stocks down 66-75% since 1950s
- Catch rates down 66-75% over last 20 years
- Reefs were declining by 16% per decade
- Clam harvesting, dredging
 Fishery issue are easier as they have strong legal obligations for all countries:
Legal obligations
UNCLOS Art 123 and 192: all states obligated “to protect and preserve the marine
environment”
There’s nothing legally standing in the way, if any, it’s merely politics

Framework?
 Establish a fishery and environmental management area drawing on precedents like
the Great Barrier Reef marine park
o Without prejudice to maritime or territorial claimants
 Split enforcement between occupiers and flag states (neutrally agreed areas)
o Claimants monitor and interdict violators, patrol can be undertaken by any
claimant in coordination with others
 Agree not to use subsidies to encourage fishing in the south china sea
 Coordinate efforts to reintroduce threatened species (giant clams, sea turtles, etc)
 Avoid activities that damage or alter the seabed (no more island building)
 Cooperate on marine scientific research, set aside sovereign issue. For instance,
Philippine researcher should be able to study Taiwan’s reef in cooperation with
Taiwanese scientist

Further research: amti.csis.org/expert-working-group-scs/

Q&A:
- South China is a very unique area as it has many claimants. The area also is intriguing
for other country that are non-claimant such as Indonesia. Is there any cooperation
among claimant and non-claimant states? Is there any case that they’re cooperating
the resources?
I understand that we need example that shows that kind of cooperation is politically
possible. We can see the agreement in 2013 or 2003 with China and Vietnam Gulf, joint
fisheries zone. To be honest It (joint zone) is somehow doable but very disappointing in
general, not just fisheries, because there are still some violations. We need to be more
ambitious because fishery issue doesn’t have time, in 20 years it will be all gone and ruined.
 - What is the best scenario for South China Sea?
Let the code of conduct talks continue, and be focus on the roles. That should be done
between the claimants, and it should be Asian parties.

- Who’s going to talk about this issue to China? Who do you have in mind?
The frustration in the Asian countries themselves make the non-claimants have a role in
this. China can say the objection about code of conduct and we’ll start from there. Once the
big decision done, politics will give it to researchers and other stakeholders

- How to resolve the sovereign issue? Taking into account that this issue is the key of
survival in the future?
Things that we have to be worried about is not sovereignty but the share of natural
resources.

- South China Sea is a completely different issue than the rest of issue in ASEAN and
China, it has a different challenge and magnitude that ASEAN has to face. What is the
scenario that follows regarding this condition?
Setting the general rule is important, it is the rational starting. I don’t think the organization
(ASEAN?) is capable to solve the issue and it is unfair to hope smaller claimants to take a
stand in this South China Sea fisheries issue.

- We’ve been talking about China, what will the US say about this proposal?
There has been a weird narrative that US oppose the diplomatic cooperation in South East
Asia but that’s incorrect. They have no choice than to accept, US will jump for joy if ASEAN
and China could resolve this issue

- Political will is a matter of circumstances that produce the will, which country would
have the political will because I don’t see here in my country?
Freezing the current status quo is not the alternative different than the 20 years we’ve been
through. This has to emerge from the claimants, non-claimants will later show interest.
China should be encouraged to take leadership role in this, but there also multiple
stakeholders in China so it matters to who wins the debate.

- When it comes to the problem of South China Sea you refer to UN convention, but in
reality, very strange that the country like US didn’t ratify UNCLOS in 13 July 2016. I
think this issue boils down to the power of international law after all
The US congress passed the legislation about this and then on top of all, the law is cease to
exist. It also happens in the case of Russia, superpower tend to maintain its power in all
cost. However, I don’t buy the narrative that great power is immune to international power
because that’s not the case and should be scrutinise closely.