A Proposal for Joint Marine Scientific Research Activities in the Disputed Maritime Areas of the South China Sea

Abstract At present, although the situation in the South China Sea has generally stabilized, the negative factors that have caused the situation in the South China Sea to heat up again have not been fundamentally eliminated. Therefore, disputing parties in the South China Sea still need to continuously strengthen cooperation in the low-sensitivity areas in order to enhance mutual trust. In the disputed maritime areas of the South China Sea, there are unilateral marine scientific research and joint marine scientific research conducted by disputing parties as well as marine scientific research conducted by a third-party. All these activities have their legal basis. Through the analysis of the legal basis of various types of marine scientific research and the problems existing in practice, it is argued that joint marine scientific research is considered the most ideal way to conduct marine scientific research in the disputed areas, but its legal basis is still weak in practice. It has been recognized that integration of marine sciences and coastal management would generate better formulated marine policies and viable policy implementation strategies which may be utilized to make a significant contribution to coastal management in various aspects. Thus, in general, developing an understanding on how marine scientific research (including joint marine scientific research) could be better conducted will shed light on how coastal management can be further improved in the future scientifically. In light of the problems existing in joint marine scientific research, this paper argues that a legally binding regional marine scientific cooperation agreement in the disputed maritime areas of the South China Sea should be established.