On The Progress And Difficulties Of The Declaration On The Conduct Of Parties In The South China Sea

One important principle in China's international strategy after the Cold War is"based on the Asia-Pacific and maintain the stability around". Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which was signed in 2002 by China and ASEAN, can be seen as a milestone in the South China Sea policy.Based on declaration, China has lunched political, security, economic and other aspects of consultation and cooperation in many areas with relevant countries in Southeast Asia. As a pioneering work, joint development was agreed that it can not only resolve complex and contentious issues in this area, but also provide economic benefits for all the countries in a most realistic way. China has signed a bilateral joint development agreement with Philippines and a trilateral joint development agreement with Vietnam and Philippines. These joint development agreements are effective attempts based on "shelving disputes and seeking common development" principle solving the South China Sea disputes referring to sovereignty and maritime interests. But for the recent situation, joint development in the South China Sea has evolved slow and had not even appeared a true appeared implement. Some relevant countries in Southeast Asia have adopted unilateral steps to change the status quo. In addition, the South China Sea issue is also related to the big country's energy security strategy and even national security strategy, such as the United States and Japan. The presence of international factors outside the region is also an important reason for the difficulties of "Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea".On this basis, this paper put forward the declaration is in fact in an actuality of more harm than good. It is recommended that the declaration should be replaced by a more specific and with higher legally binding document, in which certain punitive measures are clear on any unilateral action taken to change the status quo.