South China Sea: openness encouraged to shore up marine economy after disputes threaten to capsize relations
- To build up China’s marine economy and improve its relations with Asean nations, an academic has advised openness as a strategic objective
- Marine sector best capitalised on with regional cooperation, but charged encounters in the South China Sea present significant ballast
Chi Fulin, president of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development, proffered the strategy as a means of rapprochement with Southeast Asian countries, many of which dispute China’s claims over the South China Sea.
Global ocean governance is facing serious challenges due to changes in relations between major powers, and opening up at a high level is crucial for promoting marine economic cooperation between China and the world, he said at the China Ocean Economy Expo on Saturday in Shenzhen.
If China wants to be a leader in this marine economy … they need to take responsibility
“We recently proposed a strategic recommendation for unilateral opening-up to Asean,” he said, calling the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations a “strategic leverage point” in the region.
“In the South China Sea, where other issues are challenging to resolve in the short term, the ‘blue economy’ has become one of the most important [factors] in China-Asean cooperation,” Chi added, referring to the use of ocean resources for development and growth while continuing to prioritise conservation.
He specifically mentioned tourism – encouraging domestic and Asean enterprises to develop tourism in the South China Sea – and fishery when discussing what form that cooperation would take.
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