论南海争端各方合作的法律义务及前景

On the Legal Obligation and Prospect of Cooperation between Parties Involved in the Disputes on South China Sea

南海构成《联合国海洋法公约》第122条意义上的半闭海,因此沿岸国家理应善意履行其中的合作义务。尽管合作义务的法律属性由于《公约》第123条的措辞含糊而引发一定的争议,但按照条约解释的原理,半闭海沿岸国家的确被施加了具有法律约束力的合作义务。对比欧洲半闭海沿岸国合作的先进经验,目前南海地区的合作基本上处于初级阶段,其局限性在于:领土主权和海洋权益争端的困扰,区域性国际条约或机制的匮乏,以及缺乏强有力的区域性组织的驱动。从前瞻性角度来看,在南海争端最终获得解决之前,南海周边国家应当保持适当克制,并着重在一些低敏感度的领域开展功能性的合作,以将南海建设成为"合作之海,友谊之海"。

The South China Sea（ ‘SCS＇） constitutes a typical semi-enclosed sea under Article 122 of UNCLOS,which imposes the duty of cooperation on the bordering states around SCS. However,due to the hortatory language of Article 123 of UNCLOS,the legal nature of the duty to cooperate is not without controversies. In light of the general rule of treaty interpretation,there exists the mandatory duty of cooperation for the SCS states. In comparison with the advanced experience of cooperation between costal countries of European semi-enclosed seas,the cooperation in the SCS remains at the initial stage. Such an unsatisfactory status quo could be ascribed to the following factors： the disturbance of territorial and maritime boundary disputes,the lack of regional treaties or institutions,and the absence of powerful regional organizations. Be that as it may,the SCS States should keep self-restraint,and conduct certain functional cooperation in less sensitive areas before the settlement of territorial and maritime disputes,so as to make the SCS ＂sea of cooperation,sea of friendship＂.