ASEAN's Role in Promoting Non-Traditional Security Cooperation in the South China Sea: A Perspective from the Issues of Fisheries Security

摘要

The South China Sea is one of the world's security hot spots regarding territorial sovereignty disputes among China, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Currently, the dispute situation in the South China Sea is increasingly complicated and tends to be more stressful because the region's situation is not only heated up by territorial sovereignty disputes and geostrategic competition among great powers, but also by various non-traditional security issues, including fisheries security issues such as overfishing, illegal fishing activities, conflicts over fishery activities between countries. However, at present, there are no effective cooperative and rational mechanisms for fisheries in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an important mechanism for managing regional security issues, including non-traditional security in the South China Sea. However, ASEAN's role in this region is still relatively weak. Given this situation, the article analyzes the current situation of fisheries security issue in the South China Sea and clarifies how ASEAN's role in this sector plays out in the current period. What actions should ASEAN take to contribute to ensuring non-traditional security in the South China Sea in general and fisheries security in particular?