Marine affairs ministry needed for China

Several marine disputes between China and its neighboring countries occurred in succession last year.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress proposed building the country into a maritime power, there have been discussions on whether China needs to set up a special ministry of marine affairs management.

This proposal results from the territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, the dilemma over energy and resources, and China's "sea power threat" claimed by the US and Japan.

China takes up one-fifth of the world's population. Around 70 percent of the world is water, so advancing into the ocean is an unalterable choice for China.

Any country's marine strategy and notion of sea power comprehensively reflect its conditions, interests and coordination with other countries. Only when a country finds its proper position in the world can it have the appropriate marine strategy.

The ocean has long been a source of complications and contradictions that has resulted in many deep historical traumas for China, disturbing the nation's settlement of disputes and marine development.

Maritime development, which is essential to China's rejuvenation, needs to be strengthened urgently from the point of view of diplomacy, economic development, resources and energy, as well as military strength and national defense.

With repect to setting up marine strategy, China needs to clearly distinguish various conflicts. For example, the Diaoyu Islands issue seems to be a dispute between China and Japan, but essentially it is the combination of several kinds of multilateral relationships between various countries. The disputes in the South China Sea include contradictions between China and the US, Japan, Indonesia, Russia and countries from ASEAN.

We should also make overall plans by taking various factors into consideration. For example, the issue of the East China Sea and South China Sea touch upon the fields of international law, the law of the sea, diplomacy, military and economic development. Therefore, it is reasonable to establish a ministry of marine affairs management to coordinate these various fields.

Currently, there are at least three ways to draw up the plan for maritime development. First, we have to take initiatives. China should proceed from its national interests and make an integral plan instead of being disturbed by maritime disputes and public opinion.

Second, we have to adopt a strategy which allows China to have a rapid response mechanism. At the same time, a corresponding mechanism for dealing with abrupt changes and public opinion is also a matter of great urgency.

The last way is the concrete classification of different problems that China has to deal with.

In addition, China's existing marine regulations and policy call for systematic rearrangements. Some rules and laws need to be abandoned or enacted.

Today, we are in a new era of boosting China's maritime development. We should promote the establishment of marine regulations, so that our marine strategy can have solid legal ground and substantial legal authority.

The author is deputy director of the JCC New Japan Research Institute.