Vietnam’s Marine Environmental Security: Cross-Border Challenges and Vietnam concept
Article information
Abstract
Background and objective
Since beginning of the 21st century, security in the South China Sea/East Vietnam Sea has emerged as a big problem with degraded maritime environment and serious impacts on the global and regional security and development. Because of territorial disputes and competition among countries, marine environmental security has become an increasingly complicated issue with growing challenges. However, there is no effective coordination mechanism for this problem, thus countries and international organizations must further promote cooperation to make contribution to peace and sustainable development in the South China Sea region. Vietnam is a littoral country in the South China Sea/ East Vietnam Sea with large sea area and 28 coastal provinces and cities. Marine environmental security is closely linked to the development and prosperity of the country. Currently, Vietnam has faced many challenges, such as natural disasters, degraded marine environment, marine plastic waste, sea level rise and many cross-border challenges.
Methods
Approaching from the perspective of non-traditional security, especially marine environmental security, on the basis of analyzing the current state of the marine environment, a number of factors and issues raised for Vietnam, for other countries, parties...the author explains the need to raise awareness, develop plans and carry out many actions, especially cooperation between countries and parties to protect the environment.
Results
Environmental security in the South China Sea is facing challenges such as natural disasters, marine environmental degradation, loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, ocean plastic waste, rising sea levels and many more. Transboundary environmental issues, Marine environmental security is affected by many factors such as climate change, natural disasters, etc., but the “man-made” factor - caused by humans accounts for more. Peace and security in the South China Sea are common interests of the region and the world. South China Sea security is complex and multi-layered, with unpredictable developments. Vietnam is making efforts to address the challenges of marine environmental security, however, cross-border challenges are bigger. Marine environmental security requires cooperation from countries, international and regional organizations.
Conclusion
Vietnam is proactively and actively addressing marine environmental security challenges, participating in international cooperation to resolve marine environmental security issues. Marine Environmental Security in South China Sea is required that all parties raise their awareness and actively take action towards sustainable development. Establishing the South China Sea Environmental Security Forum chaired by the United Nations or ASEAN is an urgent need.
Introduction
Today, the environment is facing many challenges from environmental degradation, pollution, climate change and human activities. ‘Environmental security is the guarantee of safety against environmental hazards originated from domestic or cross-border pollution sources due to poor management and design’ (Hoe and Sinh, 2010, p. 5).
Marine environmental security can be understood as a stable and safe state of biological resources, marine ecosystems, sea water quality and marine landscape, which ensure the ability to maintain a sustainable marine environment in the world (Nguyen, 2019). Vietnam’s marine environmental security has been facing environmental challenges in the country’s coastal areas, as well as cross-border environmental problems in the South China Sea region (Hoi, 2019, p. 225).
‘East Vietnam Sea’ or ‘Bien Dong’ is called ‘South China Sea’ by China and some countries. The South China Sea/ East Vietnam Sea is a semi-enclosed sea with an area of about 3.5 million kilometers, stretching from 3 degrees north latitude to 26 degrees north latitude and 100 degrees east longitude to 121 degrees east longitude, and the sea is located on the maritime route connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the East Vietnam Sea security has emerged as a hot topic in which marine environment degradation significantly affects the global and regional security and development. Because of territorial disputes and competition among regional countries, marine environmental security has become increasingly complicated and posed growing challenges, but there have been no effective cooperation mechanisms and sufficient resources to promote cooperation among involved countries.
Vietnam is a coastal country in the East Sea with large sea area, and the country has 28 coastal provinces and cities. Marine environmental security is closely linked to the development and prosperity of Vietnam. The country is now facing many challenges, such as natural disasters, degraded marine environment, marine plastic waste, sea level rise and cross-border challenges. These challenges require Vietnam and other stakeholders to enhance awareness, actively take action and strengthen cooperation.
Research Methods
Literature review
The South China Sea/ East Vietnam Sea environmental security has drawn much attention of many scholars. There have been a number of proposals on advancing marine environmental security, such as ‘the establishment of a Greater Spratly Islands Peace Park’ (McManus, 2017), ‘building a regional network and management regime of marine protected areas in the South China Sea for sustainable development’ (Hoi and Dang, 2015), establishing ‘a common heritage of humanity in the East Sea’(Quy, 2011); signing ‘agreement on the South China Sea environment’ (Na and Yan, 2014), promoting science-based cooperation( Hoi and Dang, 2018), the suggestion that geopolitics should not hinder scientific cooperation in the region for the protection of the marine environment in the South China Sea, urging ASEAN and China to actively cooperate in the South China Sea environment protection(Trajano, Gong, Sembiring, and Astuti, 2018), enhancing cooperation in environmental protection to strengthen maritime cooperation (Dan, 2017) ··· highlighting the need of the Code of Conduct (Russian scholars: Yakov Berger, GM Lokshin, Dmitry Mosyakov···)(Tú, 2019). Meanwhile, Chinese scholars propose that China should lead the maritime environment protection effort with the participation of other countries (Lian and Jing, 2018).
There have been a number of international seminars (12 international conferences) organized by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, and some seminars on the East Vietnam Sea held in the United States, EU, Russia, as well as discussions in some countries on solutions to the East Vietnam Sea problems. International experts also proposed various solutions; however, the most difficult obstacle is China’s position, posture, claim of sovereignty and solutions to the East Vietnam Sea. At the international level, there have been no effective cooperation mechanisms and sufficient resources to promote cooperation among involved countries.
Methods
Approaching from the perspective of non-traditional security, especially marine environmental security, on the basis of analyzing the current state of the marine environment, a number of factors and issues raised for Vietnam, for other countries, parties... Through analyzing the causes and ways to solve marine environmental security challenges, the author explains the need to raise awareness, develop plans and carry out many actions, especially cooperation between countries and parties to protect the environment.
Current situation of coastal environment in Vietnam Currently, Vietnam’s coastal areas have been facing a lot of problems regarding marine environmental security
The increase in the number of land-based pollution sources, especially waste running down through rivers and draining into the sea, has caused marine environment degradation in many areas. A lot of estuaries have been polluted by urban and industrial wastewater. Untreated waste and improper waste disposal have become more and more popular in coastal provinces, causing serious impacts on the economy, life and livelihood of local communities in coastal areas, as well as unpredictable damages to marine ecosystems and sea creatures. Scientists estimate that 80 per cent of marine waste comes from land-based activities. Vietnam has 112 estuaries, which are sources of marine waste. In 2018, representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme announced that Vietnam annually discharged between 0.28 and 0.73 million tons of plastic waste into the ocean (accounting for 6% of the world’s total), ranking fourth in the world (Chính, 2018). Marine pollution does not only affect environmental quality and ecosystems, but also has severe impacts on economic development and coastal communities, thereby increasing the risk of food insecurity. Environmental incidents caused by oil spills, chemicals, coastal erosion, etc. are on the rise. A typical example is the marine disaster caused by wastewater discharged from the Formosa Group in Vung Ang Industrial Park, Ha Tinh province, in 2016.
Oil and gas exploitation, marine transportation activities, and 340 drilling wells and 272 seaports with a total capacity of over 550 million tons/year have made important contributions to Vietnam’s economy for many years. In addition to a large volume of wastewater mixed with oil, oil and gas exploitation activities annually generate about 5,600 tons of oil and gas waste and over 15,000 tons of floating oil and grease, of which 23 to 30 per cent is hazardous untreated solid waste (Hoang N, 2021). Moreover, oil spill is also one of the marine pollution sources. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam, in the period from 1992 to 2015, there were 54 serious oil spills in Vietnam’s waters. From 2010 to 2017, there were over 100 oil spills caused by both large and small vessels and several large oil leaks.
Unsustainable marine exploitation, increase in biodiversity loss
Vietnam’s marine resources are being overexploited and unsustainable; coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves have been increasingly damaged in many areas. It is estimated that Vietnam’s sea area, stretching from Quang Ninh to Ha Tien, has lost about 40 to 60 per cent of seagrass beds and 70 per cent of mangrove forests, and about 11 per cent of coral reefs were completely destroyed and unable to be recovered. Moreover, Vietnam’s primary mangrove forests have almost disappeared. The sharp decline in the area of mangrove forests has led to an increasing marine biodiversity loss, especially the loss of spawning grounds and habitat of aquatic species. The degradation of seagrass ecosystems is reflected in the decrease of the number of species and individuals per species, the loss of habitat, pollution problems, degraded habitat, biodiversity loss and decreased economic benefits of rare species. Total area of seagrass beds running from the North to the South of Vietnam and those near Vietnam’s islands is only about 5,583 hectares at the depths of 0 t o 20 meters (Bo TNMT, 2021).
Over the past 20 years, Vietnam has lost 12 per cent of its coral reefs while 48 per cent of coral reefs are now seriously endangered. Most areas seeing loss of coral reefs are residential ones, such as the Ha Long Bay, coastal provinces in Central Vietnam and the Spratly islands, and in many areas, coral reefs have decreased by over 30 per cent (Thai, 2020).
Overexploitation and overfishing
Currently, about 100 endangered and rare marine species have been listed in the Vietnam’s Red Data Book and IUCN Red List (37 species of marine fish, 6 species of coral, 5 species of echinoderm, 4 species of spiny lobster, 1 species of horseshoe crab, 21 species of snail, 6 species of bivalves and 3 species of squid). In recent years, research findings of FAO and some international organizations have indicated that more than 80 per cent of fish stock in coastal and offshore waters of Vietnam has been exploited, including 25 per cent of fish stock is overexploited or depleted; fish catches have declined markedly and many other marine species are at risk of extinction (Bo TNMT, 2021).
The number of foreign vessels illegally fishing in Vietnam’s waters in 2015 was much higher than that of 2014 and continued increasing in 2016. Particularly, the number of illegal fishing vessels has increased significantly in disputed waters unilaterally claimed by China. In 2015, about 165 Vietnamese fishing vessels were arrested and handled at different levels by some countries, and several Vietnamese fishermen were even shot and killed by ‘pirates’ (Hoi, 2019, p. 172). Moreover, in 2017, the European Commission (EC) issued a ‘yellow card’ warning to Vietnam for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Marine Environment Facing Cross-border Challenges
Vietnam’s environmental security challenges in the East Sea do not include only environmental challenges in coastal areas but also cross-border environmental challenges in the East Sea and Asia.
Impacts of climate change and seal level rise
Global climate change is a key aspect of environmental security and has become the biggest non-traditional security challenge to the world. The most visible phenomena are global warming, ice melt and sea level rise; extreme weather phenomena, such as floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts and persistent hot or cold weather have seriously affected human life, causing economic recession, conflicts and wars, biodiversity loss, degraded ecosystems, food shortage and many diseases, etc.
The number of storms and the number of storms of level 12 or higher, as well as the number of storms directly affecting mainland Vietnam have increased. Specifically, the number of storms was 78 in the period from 1999 to 2008, and 93 in the period from 2009 to 2018; The number of strong storms above level 12 was 32 in the 1999–2008 period and 36 in the 2009–2018 period, while the number of storms directly affecting mainland Vietnam was 28 in the 1999–2008 period, and 44 in the 2009–2018 period. Since 2016, Vietnam’s meteorological agencies started using super level for storms of level 16 or higher (184–201 km/h) (Nam, 2019). In 2019, the number of super storms was 10 (McManus, 2017).
Climate change, mainly manifested by global warming and sea level rise, has led to extreme weather phenomena. This is one of the biggest challenges to humanity in the 21st century because climate change causes ice melt, heat, storms and floods, droughts, epidemics, biodiversity loss, degraded ecosystems, decline in environmental resources, deteriorated human life and ocean acidification.
According to the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Scenario for Vietnam, by 2030, the average sea level rise for the entire coastline of Vietnam is 13 centimeters (8 cm ÷ 18 cm) according to Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6, 13 centimeters (8 cm ÷ 18 cm) according to RCP4.5, 13 centimeters (8 cm ÷ 18 cm) according to RCP6.0 and 13 centimeters (9 cm ÷ 18 cm) according to RCP8.5. In the mid-21st century, sea level rise is expected to follow a different trend. By 2050, the average sea level rise for the entire coastline of Vietnam is 21 centimeters (13 cm ÷ 32 cm) according to the RCP2.6 scenario, 22 centimeters (14 cm ÷ 32 cm) according to RCP4.5, 22 centimeters (14 cm ÷ 32 cm) according to RCP6.0, and 25 centimeters (17 cm ÷ 35 cm) according to RCP8.5(Thuc et al., 2016).
If the sea level continues increasing by 30 centimeters under the climate change scenario in 2050, land loss and saltwater intrusion will further increase in the Mekong Delta and some areas in Red River Delta, seriously affecting national food security. In addition, sea level rise will reduce the area of mangrove forest and many aquatic species lose their habitat.
Vietnam is among countries suffered the most from climate change, and the country’s Mekong Delta is one of the three deltas most vulnerable to the sea level rise. In fact, climate change has made natural disasters, especially storms, floods and droughts, become more severe.
Challenges from Ocean Plastic Waste
Currently, about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of marine waste comes from plants, factories, industrial parks, untreated wastewater and solid waste discharged into rivers by residential areas in coastal plains, as well as waste discharged directly into the sea. These sources pollution have seriously affected the natural marine environment. Currently, Asia is the region causing the most marine environmental pollution in terms of plastic waste, and Vietnam ranks fifth in the world in terms of plastic waste discharged into the sea. Ocean pollution caused by plastic waste is considered the world’s second biggest environmental challenge after climate change. In addition, there is limited capability in coping with marine pollution risks, which is not effectively managed.
Decline of Coral Reefs in the East Sea
The East Sea lies in the ‘global center of corals’. Coral reefs are an important ecosystem and also the most vulnerable one with high environmental values and richest biodiversity in the world. The Spratly Islands are being heavily deteriorated as 160 square kilometers of coral reefs disappeared, including 17 square kilometers destroyed by land reclamation and canal construction, and 143 square kilometers destroyed by human activities of sucking construction materials and dredging to catch giant clams. By the end of 2016, China reclaimed 1,500 hectares of shoals and rocks in the Spratly Islands and the Paracel islands to build artificial islands, accounting for 95 per cent of the total area reclaimed by other countries involved in sovereignty disputes in the Spratly Islands. This means that China is responsible for 95 per cent of total environmental damage to the East Sea (McManus, 2017).
Scientists estimate that China’s recent illegal activities of island building in the East Sea have severely damaged coral reefs in this area and caused a loss of about 108.9 million US dollars every year to regional fishermen (Edwin Espejo, 2015). About 20 to 50 per cent of seagrass beds in the East Sea have been degraded in regional countries’ waters, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, because of destructive fishing practices, contaminated sediments, wastewater discharged into the sea, excessive amounts of nutrients, marine pollution, coastal buildings and overexploitation. Environmental security in the East Sea has been under pressure from economic development and rapid population growth, which have caused changes and degradation of the natural habitat, overexploitation of marine resources and marine environment pollution in the past decade (Chen, 2005).
Environmental Risks from Industrial Activities, and Maritime Security and Safety
Competition for natural resources in the East Sea is becoming increasingly intense. The East Sea is rich in oil and gas, gas hydrates and ocean energy, such as wind, solar, waves, currents and tides, etc. Oil and gas industry has become one of the key economic sectors of regional countries
In recent years, China has stepped up the exploration and exploitation of natural resources in the East Sea, especially oil and gas. However, activities of China’s Hai Yang Shi You 981 oil rig in 2014 and HD-8 seismic survey vessel in 2019 posed challenges to Vietnam’s security and development.
Along with the use of mobile offshore drilling units (MODU), China has many times announced that China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) would manufacture and put into operation the modular multifunction floating reactor capable of generating 200MW. Floating nuclear power plants and floating tidal energy platforms could be a significant challenge to the environmental security of the East Sea.
The world’s major maritime and aviation routes pass through the East Sea where accidents and incidents, including oil spills, often occur with serious impacts on the marine environment. Moreover, territorial disputes in the East Sea involve many countries, and this is an obstacle to effective solutions to marine environmental security.
Vietnam’s Treatment of Ocean Plastic Waste
Marine plastic waste pollution is a serious global problem. Over 50 per cent of the total amount of plastic waste in the ocean comes from countries in the East Asian Sea region, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Recently, marine plastic waste pollution has become important environmental concerns of governments, scientists, NGOs and people around the world.
The East Sea is one of the regions having largest amount of plastic waste in the world. As the East Sea circulation varies seasonally and plastic waste is lightweight and easy to travel over great distances on strong ocean currents in the region, plastic waste problems of one country can affect the other very quickly. Specifically, because of the interconnectedness of the sea, plastic waste can float, spread, and disperse quickly in the marine environment due to ocean currents and whirlpools. Therefore, mitigating plastic waste in a sea area or an ocean requires cooperation of involved countries.
In that context, with strong political commitments, Vietnam has made significant efforts in the management and reduction of plastic waste. Particularly, at the G7 Summit in Canada on June 9, 2018, the Prime Minister of Vietnam proposed an initiative that G7 countries should put forward the establishment of a global cooperation mechanism for plastic waste reduction towards the goal of clean and blue oceans with no plastic waste. Previously, in order to enhance the management of sea and islands, Vietnam passed the Law of the Sea 2012 and the Law on Seas and Islands Natural Resources and Environment 2015. In 2019, Vietnamese Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1746/QD-TTg on December 4, 2019 on the National Action Plan on Marine Plastic Waste Management by 2030 (Chinh phu.2019). The goal of Vietnam is effectively implementing the country’s global initiatives and fulfilling its commitments to tackling the plastic waste problem, especially ocean plastic waste, and effective prevention of waste from land-based and marine activities, as well as striving to make Vietnam a regional pioneer in mitigating plastic marine pollution. The plan targets that by 2030, the country will reduce 75 per cent of marine and ocean plastic waste, achieve 100 per cent collection of lost or discarded fishing gear, and eradicate the direct disposal of fishing gear into the sea. Also, according to the plan, 100 per cent of tourist sites, tourist accommodation establishments and other tourism service providers in coastal areas will no longer use single-use plastic products and non-biodegradable plastic bags, and all coastal nature reserves will be free of plastic waste. Moreover, Vietnam will increase monitoring annually and every five years to assess marine plastic pollution in some river mouths of 11 main river basins and 12 island districts.
Vietnam’s Participation in International Cooperation in Marine Environment Protection
Vietnam has joined international cooperation in marine environment at different levels in different periods. By the end of the 20th century, Vietnam’s international cooperation in marine environment was mainly through bilateral cooperation projects with Sweden and Canada on capacity building for institutions. Recently, Vietnam has expanded its cooperation with many other partners, such as Denmark, Japan, Switzerland, Korea, the United States and China, as well as international organizations (United Nations Development Program, United Nations Environment Programme, Global Environment Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, ASEAN, etc.). Vietnam also promulgated and implemented the scheme on ‘international cooperation in the sea by 2020’ in which specific tasks are planned and implemented by relevant ministries, branches and localities.
Vietnam hosted the 5th East Asian Seas Congress in Da Nang, attended the 22nd Intergovernmental Meeting of COBSEA in Thailand and reached an agreement on climate change with French Development Agency (France), and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam is working on the approval of ‘the Project on Sustainable Development of Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay and Hai Phong River Estuary’. The country also worked with Regional Offices Germany (GIZ) and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on the action plan on integrated coastal zone management in Vietnam, and granted permission to the Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry (Russia) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) to conduct scientific research in Vietnam’s waters.
Regarding marine environmental protection, Vietnam’s natural disaster management agencies have coordinated the country’s marine environmental protection activities with those of ASEAN and the ASEAN Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment (AWGCME). Specific tasks have been implemented under integrated coastal zone management programs, the Action Plan for the Joint Statement and Framework Program between Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand on partnership on oil spill incident preparedness and response in the Gulf of Thailand(Chinhphu, 2009), and Implementation Plan for Cooperation between the Governments of Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and Republic of the Philippines on Oil Spill Preparedness and Response(Chinhphu, 2011). Vietnam has also participated in international programs and international treaties on the sea, such as the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), the ASEAN Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment (AWGCME), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Ramsar Convention on conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, etc. In order to promote regional and international cooperation with other countries in natural disaster prevention, oil spill response and marine search and rescue, Vietnam has participated in annual conferences on international cooperation in oil spill response in ASEAN region, and organized education and training courses on oil spill response with relevant countries.
Vietnam has increasingly engaged in various forms of cooperation as the country promoted bilateral and multilateral cooperation with many nations and international organizations, including maritime powers, such as China, the United States, Russia, France, Japan, Korea, ASEAN countries, etc. Moreover, the country has become more and more interested in international maritime treaties.
Vietnam’s activities of maintaining marine environmental security are clearly reflected in programs, projects and schemes implemented by central and local governments, such as the Key Program for Basic Surveys of Marine and Island Resources and Environment, the Special Supervision of Projects with high Environmental Risk, the Implementation Plan for Strategy on Sustainable Exploitation and Use of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection to 2020, with a vision to 2030, the Framework Program between Viet Nam, Cambodia and Thailand on partnership on oil spill incident preparedness and response in the Gulf of Thailand, and Implementation Plan for Cooperation between the Governments of Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Republic of the Philippines on Oil Spill Preparedness and Response, etc.
Vietnam’s cooperation with ASEAN countries has shaped a mechanism for the management of marine plastic waste and cross-border waste which aims at maintaining a clean and healthy ocean in the region, promoting environmental protection and conservation, and ensuring sustainable development of marine resources according to Vietnam’s Strategy for sustainable marine economic development to 2030, with a vision to 2045. Vietnam also put forward the National Action Plan on ocean plastic waste management until 2030 and the establishment of the International Center on Marine Plastic Waste.
Vietnam’s bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including cooperation with international environmental organizations, is aimed at building and improving sea reserves in Vietnam, as well as developing a network of sea reserves in the East Sea. This is an effective way to maintain the sustainability and development of marine economy and protect maritime environmental security in the face of globalization challenges. In order to promote and enhance international cooperation in environmental issues in times to come, Vietnam should launch ‘a strategic action program on protection against environmental degradation in the East Sea’, speed up the building and upgrading of sea reserves, establish a network of sea reserves in the East Sea to help regional countries develop marine resources and marine economy in a peaceful and sustainable way, as well as enhance trust and promote fair sharing of marine resources in the East Sea.
Agreements on joint exploitation of marine resources could be considered as a solution for involved countries having overlapping territorial waters. These agreements should be based on provisions of international law and international law of the sea, especially those of UNCLOS. From the political perspective, the interim agreement on joint exploitation is seen as a temporary solution of reducing conflict risk among disputing parties only if marine resource exploitation does not affect the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of a coastal nation. Therefore, joint exploitation of ASEAN countries should be regularly and effectively implemented in order to reduce uncertainties, as well as maintain peace and free navigation in the East Sea. At several international seminars on the East Sea, there have been several proposals on the implementation of joint exploitation plan in overlapping waters, but in reality this type of cooperation model has faced many difficulties.
International Cooperation in Environmental Protection in the East Sea
Mechanisms related to the East Sea security have been proposed in several international forums, including the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+), and conferences between ASEAN and partners, etc. There are a number of mechanisms for marine environmental protection, such as MARPOL, London Convention 1972, Washington Convention, UNCLOS 1982, etc.
In East Asia, there are several cooperative mechanisms, including the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the ASEAN Working Group on Coastal and Marine Environment (AWGCME), the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) with projects on marine environmental protection and ASEAN’s statements on climate change (CBD COP-13, COP-23). The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) raised environmental issues, as well as promoted and coordinated efforts to solve environmental problems without using any mechanisms and the project ended in 2010. Similarly, APEC has no mechanism for the management of environmental problems in the East Sea.
In 2002, ASEAN and China issued the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) which mentioned mechanism for marine environmental protection (ASEAN Secretariat, 2012). ASEAN and China also reached a common understanding of non-traditional security cooperation (ASEAN Secretariat, 2017). In 2015, the 22nd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) issued a Declaration and an action plan on marine environmental protection and preservation (ASEAN Regional Forum, 2019). ASEAN countries and China should quickly adopt the legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) which takes into account the legitimate interests of all parties (Trinh and Hiếu, 2019). It can be said that there is no international mechanism for ensuring environmental security in the South China Sea. It is necessary to build an international mechanism to address security in the South China Sea in general, and maritime environmental security in particular, and constantly expand the fields and contents of cooperation in marine environmental security.
Apart from critical factors, such as climate change and natural disasters, etc., the important ones are air pollutant emissions from coastal countries in the South China Sea, as well as industrial and trade activities in the region and the world. However, the biggest obstacle is the security dilemma and disputes among countries in the South China Sea. China’s illegal claim of nine-dash line, land reclamation, artificial island building, and militarization of the South China Sea, etc. have caused damages to the marine environment, increased regional tensions and posed challenges to regional security. One of the difficulties in solving the challenge of marine environmental security is China’s stance and policy. Beijing’s posture and solutions regarding the South China Sea have hindered regional cooperation in marine environmental protection.
Conclusion
Maintaining peace and security in the East Sea is in the interest of the region and the world. Cooperation in marine environmental security protection could bring about benefits to all parties, promote trust building, and maintain peace and prosperity in the region and the world. Addressing non-traditional security challenges, such as marine environmental security, is an area that can promote and accelerate cooperation between countries and parties; Cooperation is feasible and practical. Advancing marine environmental security requires cooperation among countries, and international and regional organizations. We should urge international organizations or forums, such as the United Nations, ASEAN or the ARF to hold conferences and develop international mechanisms for environmental protection in the East Sea.
Against the backdrop of complicated security situation, multilevel competition, territorial disputes and uncertainties in the East Sea, it is necessary to develop an international mechanism to ensure the security of the East Sea in general, and marine environmental security in particular, as well as continuously expand the scope of cooperation in marine environmental security in order to maintain peace and sustainable development in the region.
Vietnam is a responsible member of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and a coastal state in the East Sea. Therefore, Vietnam has continuously and actively increased its participation in bilateral and multilateral international forums with aim to further protect marine security in general and marine environmental security in particular, as well as contributed to a blue and peaceful East Sea.