While the geopolitics of the South China Sea row continue to be debated and negotiated by heads of states and diplomats, ordinary folk have long felt a drain in the area’s resources. Fishermen in a number of countries have reported not only smaller hauls but a catch of small, juvenile fish. Sharks have also left the area. All these point to one thing: unhampered human activity has had a drastic impact on the maritime environment of the all-important sea lane.
It’s a race against time, too. According to experts, things might be irreversible for certain species in as little as five to 10 years. We already know that coral reefs are especially slow and arduous in recovering. With a Code of Conduct from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations slow to come by, there is a need to institute a separate declaration on marine and shoreline cooperation, one that should be above politics.
A timely forum on the subject was recently held at the Manila Golf and Country Club. Organized by private think tank Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute in partnership with the US Embassy, “A Blueprint for Fisheries and Environmental Cooperation in the South China Sea” is the first in a series designed to look at critical maritime issues.
“The South China Sea is one of the world’s most productive fishing zones, and preserving our ocean ecosystem and securing our peace upon it is of critical national, regional, and international importance,” said US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.
The diplomat stressed that the ocean not only constitutes almost 70 percent of the planet; it is also historically a critical source of food and a vital lane for trade. For the Philippines, an archipelago, this dependence is even more pronounced, as the oceans surrounding the country has faced continuous threats of overfishing, pollution, and climate change.
Indeed, for Gregory Poling, the Director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and a fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, this visible decline in fisheries should be enough impetus for creating a blueprint for a conduct of cooperation in fisheries and environment in the South China Sea.
This blueprint, created by about two dozen CSIS experts from Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia, is politically feasible and in keeping with international law, Poling said, skirting sovereignty issues in the meantime.
“The fundamental starting point of the blueprint is science,” he added. “Where do the fish actually live?
The blueprint includes establishing fishery and environmental management areas similar to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia without prejudice to maritime and territorial claims, with zones to be determined solely using scientific criteria and layouts by multilateral experts and officials from all claimant countries bordering the area. Gulf of Thailand countries will be included in an advisory body.
Such blueprint, Poling added, has legal support in Unclos 123 and 192, which legally obligate signatories to care for the marine environment and, especially, cooperate on such matters. In the context of territorial tensions in the region, he said issues of sovereignty shouldn’t interfere with the institution of the blueprint.
“[It’s] most important [that] all the countries agree that nothing they sign up for is going to prejudice their claims down the road. So if you agree, if you cooperate on marine scientific research and fishing, it’s not a recognition of anybody’s claim. You are only recognizing the reality that there are outposts out there, and we need to protect fish today.”
The other points in the blueprint include: enforcement, prohibition against subsidies, the reintroduction of giant clams and other threatened species to depopulated reefs, avoiding activities that damage the marine environment, and cooperation on marine scientific research.
“It’s going to be very difficult to preserve marine life when we don’t know exactly how threatened it is.”
Albert del Rosario, former foreign affairs secretary and Stratbase ADRi chairman, said that while the attempt to put the environment and science at the center of the blueprint and include non-government bodies in the initiative are laudable, he stressed the political dimension of the matter. “At the end of the day we’re dealing with China, the claimant countries, and above all our government,” he said, adding that it could be a “test of how effective our foreign policy with China is.”
Thus, it seems that a combination of a science-centric and mindful diplomacy should do the trick, and with time running for the marine resources in the South China Sea, the solution needs to come sooner rather than later.