中國在南海的科技外交：試探、維穩與擁有水域

China's Science Diplomacy in the South China Sea:Exploring, calming and owning the waters

The South China Sea is not only the arena of conflicting sovereignty claims, but is also increasingly identified as one of the most significant environmental hotspots of the 21st century. The impact of continuous coastal development, escalating reclamation and augmenting maritime traffic is now routinely placed in front of the eyes of the world. With dwindling fisheries in the region's coastal areas, fishing state subsidies, overlapping EEZ claims, and projects of seabed mining and oil drilling, gloomy scenarios on food security and renewable marine resources are rapidly becoming a dire reality. These critical ecological circumstances are in negative combination with the complex geopolitical ecosystem of the area, in which China's territorial ambitions are resisted or challenged by a number of regional stakeholders and the United States. In this difficult predicament, science diplomacy - international science cooperation intended primarily to improve political relations with other countries - may play a crucial role. The growing centrality of science diplomacy within public policy is reflective of its new status as the practice of foreign policy needs to adapt to a reality of scientific and technical pervasiveness. In fact, many of the defining challenges the region is facing have scientific dimensions, and none of the littoral countries will be able to solve these problems on its own. For this reason, they need an ambit and instrument for enhancing mutual trust, strengthening cooperation and share interests without directly involving their territorial disputes. Fortunately, joint scientific investigations have the potential to spread the norms of scientific inquiry to enhance governance. Therefore, the collaboration of epistemic communities from the claimant nations can create synergies and ‘spaces of trust' for circumventing the sovereignty debate by focusing on science-based cooperation and co-manage the sea. Science diplomacy would also serve as a vector for implementing public diplomacy strategies, especially for China, which is strong in science and technology relations and has a regional bully image problem. However, an analysis of China's scientific activities and collaborative projects indicates that Beijing might be using scientific cooperation mainly as a conduit of soft power and Sino-centric discourses, and present any collaboration as a concession, rather than a partnership on an equal footing. 南海不僅是主權衝突的區域，而且也日益成為21世紀最重要的環境熱點之一。在世人眼前所呈現的常態是海岸的持續開發與不斷升高的宣示與一再強化的海上交通所帶來的衝擊。由於區域內海岸地區漁獲量的減少，捕漁的政府補貼，重疊的專屬經濟區（Exclusive Economic Zone，簡稱EEZ）的主權宣示以及海床採礦與石油探勘的計畫，有關食品安全與海洋可再生資源（renewable marine resources）的悲觀情境剖析已是事實。這些危急的生態環境再加上複雜的區域地緣政治生態體系的結合是中國領土企圖心在此區域遭到數個區域內相關當事國與美國抵抗或挑戰的背景。在此困境的情況下，旨在改善與他國的政治關係而以國際科技合作為核心的科技外交或可扮演關鍵的角色。科技外交逐漸成為公眾政策的主軸以及其新地位正反映出外交的實踐必須適應科技普及的事實。而事實上目前此一區域所面臨的諸多挑戰皆與科學領域相關，沒有一個沿岸國家得以單獨解決這些問題。因此，這些國家需要在其影響所及的範圍內有增加互信、強化合作與共享利益卻不直接涉及領土紛爭的機制。所幸共同科學調查具有從科學探索規範延伸至強化管理的潛力。此外，科技外交亦可作為落實公眾外交戰略的向量，尤其是擁有強大科技關係但在區域內有強欺小形象的中國。