Joint development in the South China Sea: A new approach

Abstract

The political situation in the South China Sea is complicated, as it contains potential for conflict with different national interests, in particular around the Spratly Islands which are currently under multiple territorial and maritime claims. This article argues for a new proposal of joint development, at least as a provisional means, pending the settlement of the territorial and maritime disputes, involving all the parties concerned, based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea Between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, so as to pave the way for the sharing of resources between ASEAN members and China on the one hand and to maintain regional peace and security in East Asia on the other. © Koninklijke Brill NV 2006.