Download South China Sea: Unity for Food Security

South China Sea: Unity for Food Security
Capt. Martin A. Sebastian RMN (R)
When it comes to South China Sea maritime boundary issues, almost every
relevant page from the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea 1982
has been turned. Confidence building measures have turned into conference
building measures. Negotiations and talks have regularly occurred at all Track I
and II levels and yet, they have not been able to arrest the mushrooming of
offshore stations on the fragile reefs and rocks dotting the seas. The large scale
stations being built today dwarf the outposts built by other nations elsewhere.
These fortresses have resulted in ecocide (ecological genocide) with far reaching
consequences to the marine resources that rely on the marine ecosystem for
survival.
Debates rage between superpowers as to whether these stations will lead to the
militarization of the South China Sea. Reports on the deployment of anti-aircraft
missiles and airstrips capable of landing fighter jets have fired the imagination of
keyboard warriors and academics. Could these developments lead to the
hypothesis that some form of hegemony is looming in the South China Sea through
the leap frogging of military assets into the area? Have the narratives on
sovereignty and militarization been a decoy on the actual interests in the South
China Sea?
Whilst the international community has been focusing on sovereignty and
security, droves of fishing vessels, supported by maritime militia and logistics
vessels have been plundering marine resources. Coast guard ships, relaying
telecommunication information to the militia are fed by patrolling aircrafts on the
presence of other foreign fishing vessels and enforcement vessels present in the
area of interest.
The latest report by the MMEA that 100-150 foreign fishing vessels trawling and
plundering marine resources in our maritime real estate was supported by RMAF
surveillance aircrafts patrolling the area. The near collision between MMEA
vessels and foreign fishing vessels (maritime militia?) on a Friday, effectively put
out the “sentry” and gave these fishing hordes a bountiful weekend!
The question now is this. Are we going to be perennially divided on the question
of the South China Sea, as the narratives are on sovereignty and security, or are
we going to unite as a caring global society to preserve and conserve the food
security that is fast being devastated? Perhaps a new approach to handle the South
China Sea should be considered.
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We may need to view that devastation of the marine real estate just as we, the
global society, addressed the devastation of the rain forests. Uncontrolled logging
led to the fear of extinction of vulnerable species. Loss of habitat, poaching and
feeding on exotic animals gave rise to the rain forest activists. Today, international
pressure has saved the rainforest in many ways. Thanks to conservationists and
media, the efforts have saved much of the inhabitants of the rain forest.
The depredations on marine resources must be accorded equal or higher
emphasis. Giant clams, tuna, leopard grouper, hawksbill turtle and napoleon
wrasse are some of the endangered species being plundered in the South China
Sea by illegal fishermen. Offshore stations must be viewed as staging areas for
fishing fleets, maritime militia, and fuel support for these fishermen. Air patrols
and coast guards must be viewed as information support.
In addition to this uncontrolled activity, destructive fishing using bombs are
conducted by crime syndicates to gather produce for fertilizers, salted fish and
cheap fish for the market. Cyanide is used by crime syndicates using deep sea
divers to supply the live fish trade market.
Littoral states must unite to address this issue by coordinating patrols in their
respective EEZs and arresting vessels and deterring them from passing through.
The international community must ban the purchase of fish plundered from this
area. Global condemnation is due on the devastation of the marine ecosystem. A
calibrated and collective action is required by all quarters to identify the type of
resources being plundered and the areas where ecocide is rampant.
As a social responsibility, actions by shareholders of multinational companies are
equally useful to pressure these companies not to invest in rogue states. It is
through such collective action that we can be united to preserve food security for
future generations.
Domestic agencies need to manage scarce resources prudently to obtain reliable
situation awareness on the maritime real estate through the National Blue Ocean
Strategy (NBOS) encompassing government assets and remote sensing satellites.
Situation awareness can also be provided by invigorating the domestic deep sea
fleet. Offshore oil and gas platforms dotting the maritime real estate are also useful
in providing valuable information on thieves robbing our resources.
Perhaps a Single Maritime Point of Contact (SMPC) is required to collectively
analyse the situation and plan possible actions and calibrated reactions to
safeguard the marine resources of our maritime real estate. Enough talk, let’s
walk.
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