《南海各方行為宣言》不容妄議
The DOC Brooks No Distortion

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鐘聲
Zhong Sheng
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2015年7月，菲律賓鼓噪醞釀了兩年之久的南海仲裁案終于正式拉開帷幕。近日，有關(guān)仲裁庭在荷蘭海牙舉行了所謂庭審，菲律賓方面在其陳詞中，妄議、貶損南海地區(qū)國家于2002年簽署的《南海各方行為宣言》，其言辭令人咋舌。
In midsummer 2015, the so-called South China Sea arbitration hearing that the Philippines had been clamoring for and brewing in the past two years finally started. Recently, the relevant arbitral tribunal held this so-called hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, where the Philippine side made irresponsible and derogatory remarks in its statements on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed by relevant countries in 2002. Such remarks are indeed astonishing.
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上世紀60年代末，為爭奪石油資源利益，一些國家對我國的南沙島礁提出領(lǐng)土要求并非法侵占，南海問題由此產(chǎn)生。為管控各方爭議，維護南海和平穩(wěn)定，中國和東盟國家自上世紀90年代起便開始溝通，共同致力于探索適合本地區(qū)的爭議解決辦法。經(jīng)過長時間的磋商磨合，2002年，中國和東盟十國在柬埔寨金邊正式簽署《南海各方行為宣言》，向世界宣告南海不再沒有規(guī)則，而有了地區(qū)國家共同確立的“南海規(guī)矩”，此后南海風波漸止?！缎浴芬搏@得了“定海神針”的美譽。其第四條明確指出“有關(guān)各方承諾根據(jù)公認的國際法原則，包括1982年《聯(lián)合國海洋法公約》，由直接有關(guān)的主權(quán)國家通過友好磋商和談判，以和平方式解決它們的領(lǐng)土和管轄權(quán)爭議，而不訴諸武力或以武力相威脅?！?011年，中國和東盟十國進一步就落實《宣言》后續(xù)行動指針達成一致，開啟了全面有效落實《宣言》的歷史進程。
It is well known that in the late 1960s, a report of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East stirred up the South China Sea. To vie for interests in oil resources, some countries laid territorial claims to China’s Nansha Islands and illegally occupied some of the islands and reefs, giving rise to the South China Sea issue. For the purpose of managing disputes among the parties and maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, China and ASEAN countries started their communication in the 1990s to jointly explore a dispute settlement approach suitable for the region. After a long period of consultation and mutual adaptation, China and the ten ASEAN countries officially signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2002, which announced to the world that regional countries had an official document to follow when dealing with issues in the South China Sea. Since then, the South China Sea disputes gradually quieted down and peace and stability was maintained for over a decade. The DOC won the reputation of a “stability anchor.” Article 4 of the DOC stipulates that, “The Parties concerned undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.” With eight more years of joint efforts, China and the ten ASEAN countries reached agreement on the Guidelines for the Implementation of the DOC in 2011, and started the historical process of fully and effectively implementing the DOC.
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然而，菲律賓本屆政府上臺后，背離善意合作的建設(shè)性態(tài)度，違反其在《宣言》中所作承諾，踐踏各國為維護南海和平穩(wěn)定的共同努力，在域外大國的慫恿支持下精心籌劃一場“仲裁”鬧劇，企圖在南海再生事端。菲代理人在庭審中妄稱，《宣言》“從未創(chuàng)設(shè)權(quán)利和義務”，只是“相互妥協(xié)”的“權(quán)宜之計”，歪曲各方共同承諾選擇的“通過友好談判協(xié)商解決爭議”的道路，指稱該承諾毫無約束力，且沒有達到任何預期成果。菲代理人的此番言論實際上與菲方先前“訴狀”內(nèi)容一脈相承。人們不禁要問，如若一個主權(quán)國家可以背信棄義，隨意背棄承諾，如若《宣言》真如菲方所稱毫無意義，那么菲作為主權(quán)國家的國際信譽何在？南海又何來長達十多年的和平穩(wěn)定？
However, since taking office, the current government of the Philippines has drastically changed the country’s constructive attitude for good faith cooperation in the past, gone back on its commitment under the DOC and trampled on the common efforts of relevant countries in safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea. It meticulously planned an “arbitration” farce with the instigation and support of some country outside the region in an attempt to re-create disputes in the South China Sea. At the hearing, the Philippines’ counsel made unfounded statements that the DOC had never created any right or obligation and it was merely an expediency of mutual compromise, and that the path of seeking dispute settlement through friendly negotiation chosen by the parties through joint commitment was non-binding and had not achieved any anticipated result. Such statements can be traced back to the earlier “Memorial” filed by the Philippine side. One cannot help but ask, if a sovereign state can dishonor its commitment and willfully break its promise, if the DOC is indeed as meaningless as claimed by the Philippine side, then where does the international reputation of the Philippines, a sovereign state, rest upon? And where did the peace and stability in the South China Sea for over a decade come from?!
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人們注意到，仲裁庭在有關(guān)管轄權(quán)問題的裁決中，竟然將中國和東盟十國政府共同簽署的《宣言》一貶到底。試問，占全球人口近1/3的十一國人民共同選擇的爭議解決道路豈是憑仲裁庭只言片語就可以隨意顛覆？除此之外，有關(guān)裁決還歪曲解讀《聯(lián)合國海洋法公約》有關(guān)條款，對公約所規(guī)定的“就爭議問題交換意見義務”任作解釋，企圖降低各締約國進入爭端強制解決程序的門檻，為一些國家策劃新的鬧劇鋪平道路。這種隨意擴大自我權(quán)限的行徑，無疑是給一些人打著仲裁旗號胡鬧之舉開綠燈，注定不會得到主權(quán)國家的認同。
What is also astonishing is that the arbitral tribunal could not tell right from wrong and followed suit by belittling the DOC, the document signed by the governments of China and the ten ASEAN countries, in its ruling on the relevant jurisdiction issue. One cannot help but ask how can the choice of dispute settlement approach made by all the people of eleven countries, or nearly one third of the world’s population, be easily overturned by a word or two of the arbitral tribunal?! What’s more, the relevant ruling also gives a distorted interpretation of the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and arbitrarily interprets UNCLOS’ stipulation on the “obligation to exchange views” on disputes. That is an attempt to lower the threshold for the states parties to enter into the compulsory procedures and to pave the way for new farces planned by some countries. If the interpretation of the arbitral tribunal becomes a reality, countries will be constantly involved in various legal actions and the world will hardly have a quiet day. All little disputes between two states will inevitably lead to lawsuits. Such an act of arbitrarily expanding the power of oneself will never have the consent of sovereign states.
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公平正義的國際法治不可能因為一場鬧劇就被扭曲改寫，《宣言》不會因為幾句歪理便成為廢紙一張，各成員國都有責任和義務維護《宣言》的有效性和權(quán)威性，使其繼續(xù)發(fā)揮“定海神針”的作用。
The international rule of law upholding equity and justice cannot be distorted by a farce, and the DOC shall not become a scrap of paper just because of a few unfounded remarks. All parties to the DOC have the responsibility and obligation to safeguard its validity and authority, so that it can continue to play the role of a “stability anchor.”