ABSTRACT
Environmental issues are often transboundary and affect the daily lives of people as well as broader national interests. The South China Sea is the common bond for China and the ASEAN states, which sees them face the same environmental challenges such as climate change and the impacts on the marine environment and resources. There has been a complex set of maritime boundary and sovereignty disputes in South China Sea region, and environmental issues would make the condition much worse. For this reason, environmental cooperation needs to be placed at the centre of non-traditional security concerns among China and the ASEAN states, in order to not only protect the common interests but also maintain regional peace and stability. The MSR is a new chance for China and the ASEAN states to build common development strategy, and is also a good chance to deepen China-ASEAN environmental cooperation. Against this background, this chapter first illustrates the major environmental issues in the South China Sea region and the process of cooperation between China and ASEAN states, and then analyses the key issues related to the present cooperation progress.
