China’s View Of Ocean Order:Origin,Development And Prospect

Since the beginning of the 21st century,the existing international maritime order has been gradually weakened in the fair distribution of maritime interests,the proper settlement of maritime disputes and the orderly implementation of maritime practices,resulting in the global maritime governance deficit.Moreover,with the vigorous development of China’s maritime undertakings,the maritime hegemonic order upheld by the United States is gradually becoming less tolerant to the rise of China’s maritime undertakings.Some of the rules of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS)also give China unfair treatment in the allocation of maritime resources and space.Therefore,in order to promote the construction of a more reasonable and orderly new international maritime order,China should put forward its own proposal of maritime order--view on maritime order at the right time and in accordance with the situation.By sorting out the evolution process of China’s view on maritime order,China should put forward the prospect of contemporary maritime order.Maritime order is an orderly state of maritime interests based on maritime hard power and soft power,guided by specific values and manifested by rules,institutions or certain behavior patterns.The view on maritime order is the concept configuration and top-level design of maritime order,which is embodied in the thinking and arrangement of the subject,function and practice path of maritime order construction.Based on this analytical framework,the evolution of China’s view on maritime order can be systematically presented.Although limited by the level of productivity,the ancient maritime order of China did not form deep interaction of maritime interests,but in the process of building the "Tian Xia" order,a relatively stable maritime behavior pattern was formed.The ancient China’s view on maritime order is manifested in the understanding of the logic,rules and principles of the maritime behavior pattern.Although it is in the embryonic stage and belongs to the "Tian Xia" view,it provides the spiritual core for the development of the maritime order view of the later generations.Entering modern times,the "Tian Xia" order suddenly collapsed,and China was violently involved in the Westphalia System.The view on maritime order broke away from the "Tian Xia" view,and then closely combined with nationalism to achieve a remodeling,and played a connecting role in the evolution of China’s view on maritime order.With reform and opening up,especially in the 21st century,China has embraced and developed the ocean with unprecedented confidence.Although China’s view on contemporary maritime order has not been formally and systematically proposed,its cultural and historical deposits based on traditional concepts have begun to take shape under the call of the times and tempered by maritime practice.For China,actively putting forward a scientific outlook on the contemporary maritime order and promoting the reform of the international maritime order are not only the propositions of the times for China’s own maritime development,but also the ardent expectations of the international society on China.In the whole process of "origin,tortuous development and contemporary outlook",China’s view on maritime order has undergone changes in nature,connotation and value preference,and has also adhered to the spiritual core of "peace,inclusiveness and reciprocity" as well as the thinking perspective of integrity and relationship.The"transformation" and "adherence" not only reflect the resilience of China’s view on maritime order,but also test the strength and value of China’s excellent traditional spirit.China’s view on maritime order is gaining new momentum and will surely show more profound value in the new era.