Cooperation in the South China Sea: From Dispute Management to Ocean Governance

Abstract

The South China Sea has long been of interest to scholars of international law and international relations. But attention has been paid almost exclusively to the simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea. While this is justified by the concern that such disputes pose a threat to regional peace and stability, that the management of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea dominates existing literature may belie the fact that the South China Sea is a large semi-enclosed sea and boasts crucial sea lines of communication. This paper canvasses for a more comprehensive approach to cooperation in the South China Sea through the prism of ocean governance. In this vein, the management of territorial disputes is but an important element of cooperation in the South China Sea.