Joint Development in the South China Sea: Is the Time Ripe?

The South China Sea disputes are very complicated. They involve six parties – China (Taiwan), Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – and concern overlapping claims over both land features and maritime zones. Although it is recognized that peaceful resolution of these disputes is important to the region as well as the world, it is unlikely that this aim could be reached in any near future. Demand for resources, living and non-living, has pushed claimant States to take unilateral activities for resources exploration and exploitation in the disputed sea area. These unilateral activities are against the spirit of Declaration of Conduct for the Parties in the South China Sea (doc) which was reached between China and the member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (asean) in 2002. They have met and will be meeting strong protests from other claimant States. With situations in the South China Sea being intensified since 2009, various means have been attempted and reconsidered to control the disputes from being escalated or even spilling out of control. This article discusses the concept of joint development arrangements ( jda) and its possible application in the South China Sea proper.1 The next section introduces the concept of jda from an international law perspective and its evolution. Section iii takes the South China Sea Region2 as a site for observation to study the policies of all the claimant countries in relation to jda, followed by examination of the jda cases in the region to which