A Legal Analysis Of The Construction Of Marine Protected Areas In The South China Sea And Its Impact

The marine environment is the foundation for the sustainable development of the South China Sea(SCS)area,while Marine Protected Area(MPAs)is one of the main tools for managing the marine environment in states bordering the SCS.There are some countries such as Brunei,Vietnam,Philippines,and Malaysia which have tried to unilaterally establish MPAs in the marine area of the SCS where they have sovereignty disputes with China.This situation has brought uncertainty to the peace and stability of the SCS area.Based on this,this article studies the construction of MPAs in the SCS and its impact from a legal perspective.Firstly,this article introduces the overview of the construction of MPAs in the SCS,including the number,area,management effects,construction of MPAs in disputed sea areas as well as the cooperation cases of marine environment in the SCS.Overall,the construction level of the MPAs in the SCS is not high.Secondly,this article analyzes the international legal provisions,as well as the legal basis in the six states bordering the SCS(China,Malaysia,Vietnam,Indonesia,Philippines and Brunei)for the construction of MPAs in the SCS.At present,the SCS has not yet formed a regional international legal mechanism for the establishment of MPAs,in the meantime,there are significant differences between establishment and the management of the MPA among states bordering the SCS.The construction of MPAs in the SCS is still dominated by the individual actions of the coastal countries.Next,this article analyzes the impact of the construction of MPAs in non-disputed and disputed seas of the SCS,as well as the impact of cooperation in the construction of MPAs in the SCS.In the SCS,the location of MPA is an important factor in determining the impact of MPAs.The construction of MPAs in non-disputed marine areas of the SCS mainly has a positive impact on regional rule of law;the unilateral establishment of MPAs in disputed marine areas has more negative impacts;however,to strengthen regional MPAs cooperation can increase positive impact and reduce negative impact.The practice of the construction of MPAs in the SCS is of great reference value to China.Firstly,China should expand the area of MPAs in the SCS and improve the MPAs management capacity to fulfill its international legal obligations to build MPAs.Secondly,china needs to promote the construction of a MPAs network in the SCS to fulfill the international legal obligations of marine environmental cooperation.Thirdly,drawing inspiration from the practices of the MPAs construction of the states bordering the SCS,it is better for China to improve domestic legislation system of MPAs.Finally,china should actively promote the formulation of a regional international cooperation system for the construction of MPAs in the SCS.