International Cooperation between Coastal States for Marine Environmental Protection in Yellow Sea

Abstract

This paper aims at comparing similarities and differences between Korea and China, clarifying the evolution threads, summing up the experience and lessons of the legislation and enforcement of marine environmental protection carried out by two countries and analyzing the concept of advanced marine environmental protection and effective methods that can be referred with each other. On these bases, suggestions on improvement of marine environmental protection in Yellow Sea are put forward, which can be referred for expanded cooperation in marine environmental protection of both countries. Yellow sea belongs to the national maritime jurisdiction of South and North Korea and China. Its self‐cleaning capacity is considered to be quite poor given that it is a semi‐enclosed sea with shallow waters. Hence, each country has to be responsible for its own marine area on one hand, and has to be responsive to establish more effective joint pollution control mechanism as soon as possible. Since the three Northeast Asian countries are under different economical, social, and cultural conditions, big differences exist among them in environmental protection investment, law legislation as well as in law enforcement. To gain better effect in controlling Yellow Sea pollution in the near future, the countries should improve more effective cooperative system and management level of environmental protection. The Law of the Sea Convention introduced wide range of regulations regarding marine environmental protection in Part 12 "Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment". Especially, article 197 of the Convention stipulates that states shall cooperate on a global basis and, as appropriate, on a regional basis, directly or through competent international organizations, in formulating and elaborating international rules for the protection and preservation of the marine environment, taking into account characteristic regional features. Given the features surrounding Yellow Sea, integrated management regarding marine environment through regional cooperation is needed. Among the cases of regional cooperation projects for Yellow Sea environmental preservation, Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Project (YSLME) and Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) as well as Korea-China Joint Research on Marine Environment of Yellow Sea were examined. However, there are problems to be solved for more effective agreements and more fruitful results. The problems are drawbacks within cooperative system, difference in economic level, and difference in enforcement means. For more effective cooperation in marine environment protection, Korea and China should strive to improve ocean governance and government system, modify legislative and enforcement system, intensify multilateral and bilateral cooperation among coastal states, and build more efficient system for conflict management and dispute settlement.