Joint Fishery Management Cooperation, Blue Economy And Peaceful Resolution Of South China Sea Conflict – OpEd

Though tensions remain in China-Philippines relations in the South China Sea, there are peaceful approaches for the two parties to calm their relations and promote cooperation. One of the peaceful approaches is the pursuance of joint fishery management cooperation that can contribute to the development of a blue economy in the South China Sea (SCS).

There are many innovative options to promote joint fishery management cooperation activities in the SCS.  These options can be in the form of Marine Protected Areas (MPA)/Marine Peace Park; Regional Fishery Management Organization (RFMO)/Multilateral Fishery Agreements (MFAs); and Aquaculture Development.

Establishing MPAs and declaring Marine Peace Parks are peaceful options for joint fishery management cooperation in the SCS. John McManus of the University of Miami in Florida has advocated as early as the 1990s to have a jointly run marine “Peace Park” in order to avert a fisheries collapse in the SCS. Protecting the fishery resources of the SCS through the “Peace Park” is essential to create a blue economy in the region considering that only 5% of the total waters of the SCS are currently protected. The remaining 95% of waters of the SCS are subjected to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) activities.

Establishing RFMO through MFAs in the SCS is another option for joint fishery management cooperation. The RFMOs are international organizations establishing commonly acceptable and binding rules for the conservation and sustainable management of highly migratory or straddling fish resources. The RFMOs cover most of the world’s oceans including the SCS. The Philippines and China need to support RFMOs in order to encourage joint fishery management cooperation towards the development of blue economy in the SCS. Rather than compete militarily, China, the Philippine and other parties in the SCS can cooperate through joint fishery management cooperation.

Finally, promoting joint fishery management in the area of aquaculture development is an option in the SCS. Cooperation in the area of aquaculture development is considered to be a sustainable practice in preventing overfishing and overexploitation of marine resources in the world’s oceans, including the SCS. This is, in fact, one of the options being considered by the Philippines and China to promote joint fishery management in the SCS.

However, there are issues associated with the prospects of aquaculture projects in the SCS. It is argued that in spite of all the optimism, “aquaculture in current form might not be a promising option for fisheries cooperation in the SCS. To begin with, the impact of aquaculture on wild fish stocks remains contentious.” There is, therefore, a great need to settle these contentious issues to make aquaculture development work in the SCS.

There are difficulties pursuing joint fishery management cooperation in the SCS, particularly in the Spratly Islands, involving all claimants because of multiple players with their own national interests and domestic interpretations of the need to cooperate. Pursuing multilateral joint fishery management cooperation in the SCS is a big challenge, as it will take time to overcome all the difficulties mentioned above. Intensified confidence building measures, consultations, negotiations and consensus building are needed to find common grounds for multilateral cooperation in a complex maritime domain like the SCS.

The Scarborough Shoal is an excellent area for China and the Philippines to pursue joint fishery management cooperation in the WPS because of its bilateral nature. Achievements and challenges in bilateral joint fishery management cooperation in the Scarborough Shoal between China and the Philippines can even provide great lessons for the promotion of fishery management cooperation in the wider SCS region.

China and the Philippines can further discuss the details of bilateral joint fishery management cooperation in the Scarborough Shoal in the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultative Mechanism (BCM) in the SCS, particularly in the Working Group on Political Security, Fisheries Cooperation, and the Working Group on Marine Scientific Research and Marine Environmental Protection established in 2019 during the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

It is essential for the administration of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos, Jr. to take stock of the achievements of these working groups in order to start up again cooperative undertakings in the Scarborough Shoal and other parts of the SCS.

China and the Philippines can de-escalate their current tensions in the SCS if there is a strong will to cooperate by meeting half-way and managing their differences. Establishing habit of cooperation is a vital step towards the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the SCS, which is essential for the development of blue economy not only for Asia but the rest of the world.

• Remarks delivered at the International Seminar, “Building a China-ASEAN Blue Economy Partnership Together” organized by China Institute for Reform and Development, Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University held at the Shangri-la Bangkok on 27 August 2024.