The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) clearly stated that "adhere to the overall national security concept", which is of great practical significance for safeguarding national security and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the beginning of the 21 st century, the status of the ocean in safeguarding national security and development interests has risen sharply, and coastal countries have begun to develop and utilize the ocean on a large scale to enhance their comprehensive strength. Tracing back to the historical evolution of China's maritime security awareness, China has a historical tradition of taking care of both land and sea since ancient times, and points out an effective way for the country to maintain maritime security and overall national security by improving the maritime legal system and actively participating in international and regional cooperation.
Preface
Today's world is in the midst of "great changes unseen in a century", and the role of the ocean in the pattern of national development and security has become more important, and its position in safeguarding national sovereignty and security development has become more prominent. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) clearly stated that "adhere to the overall national security concept", which is of great practical significance for safeguarding national security and realizing the "Chinese Dream" of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At present, advocating the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and achieving the goal of win-win cooperation has become a universal consensus of people around the world. China's geographical location determines that China must make a geopolitical choice in the direction of sea and land, and the establishment of a land-sea coordination mechanism is precisely adapted to this historical choice. Island ownership, maritime demarcation and marine development have become the three major issues of China's maritime security today, and they are interrelated and mutually restrictive, constituting an intricate organic whole, in which island ownership is the foundation, maritime delimitation is the premise, and marine development is the goal.
1. The historical changes in the concept of China's land and sea co-ordination
Land-sea co-ordination refers to the comprehensive planning of governments at all levels in the process of economic and social development, based on the environmental characteristics of land and sea resources, and the use of administrative, economic and legal means to carry out macro-control in the fields of sea and land resource development, industrial layout, ecological and environmental protection and comprehensive management, so as to coordinate the economic, ecological and social functions of land and sea, comprehensively maximize social benefits, promote sustainable economic and social development, and realize the healthy harmony between man and nature. The implementation of the land-sea integrated mechanism is a reconstruction of the original geopolitics made by China in order to overcome the dilemma of the rise of great powers, and the logic of reconstructing geopolitics should be carried out under the following framework: first, how to define and realize national interests from the perspective of overall national security; second, how to enhance the awareness of maritime security among the whole people and how to correctly deal with the key elements that threaten China's national security and development interests; third, how to strengthen the construction of the maritime rule of law system under the premise of adhering to the overall national security concept, and how to use the country's comprehensive strength to maintain maritime security, so as to ensure the overall security of the country。
Since ancient times, China has had a historical tradition of balancing land and sea. In the course of governing the country, the Chinese dynasties have taken into account both land and sea conditions, and while doing a good job in defending the land frontier regimes, they have always been at the forefront of the world in navigating the sea, attaching great importance to maritime security. "Warring States Policy" contains: During the Spring and Autumn Period, the vassal states began to introduce the battlefield into the sea while launching military attacks on land. Wu invaded Qi from the sea twice, and other countries began to notice the important military role of the sea. The Book of Han contains: While Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in the Northern Expedition to the Xiongnu to consolidate the northern Xinjiang, he sent troops to discover the Nansha Islands through navigation in the expansion of the territory, and began to call the Nanhai Islands, including the Nansha Islands, Qitou. "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" contains: While resisting Shu and Wei on land, Wu sent the general Wei Wen to lead a fleet to the mainland and Taiwan. With the progress of shipbuilding technology and the emergence of the "great unification" of the country, the feudal ruling class began to rely on sea and land expansion to maintain national stability. In the early days of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu ordered the general Ma Yuan to take more than 1,000 ships and carry more than 20,000 people to pacify Jiaozhi (present-day Vietnam); during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the combined forces of Tang and Silla defeated the combined forces of Baekje and Japan in the waters of the mouth of the Baijiang River; since the Tang and Song dynasties, the imperial court attached importance to the use of the sea while stabilizing the security of the land frontier, allowing the common people to settle on the islands and reefs of the present-day South China Sea, engage in fishing and other activities, and declare sovereignty to the outside world; and in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial court officially placed the Nansha Islands under the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou Prefecture (present-day Hainan Province). In the Ming Dynasty, the national hero Qi Jiguang led the "Qi Army" to defeat the Japanese and maintain the security of the southeast sea frontier. All this reflects the important position of the sea and land in the overall security of the country. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the party and the state successively set up fortified areas in coastal areas, built a modern defensive navy, and promoted the participation of the coast guard in maritime law enforcement, laying an important foundation for maintaining maritime security. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the mainland has actively advocated the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and promoted the construction of a "global community with a shared future for the ocean" in the field of global ocean governance, which is composed of marine politics, marine economy, marine security, marine ecology and marine culture, which provides a major opportunity for China to maintain maritime security.
Second, the inevitability of strengthening the overall coordination of land and sea under the implementation of the overall national security concept
To fully implement the overall concept of national security, we must adhere to the principle of coordinating development and security, and be good at using the fruits of development to consolidate the strength foundation of national security, and at the same time be good at shaping a security environment conducive to economic and social development; Under the new situation, the geographical conditions of both land and sea make the mainland's national security face challenges in both land and sea directions. Maritime security is an important condition for the peaceful rise of the mainland, and the current threats to the mainland's national security mainly come from the sea. As a world power with important influence, China's peaceful rise and development are increasingly profoundly affected by changes in the world's maritime order, especially the strategic adjustment of surrounding national security.
1. China has maritime disputes with its neighboring countries, and the security situation is grim
Since the beginning of the 21st century, coastal countries have become increasingly competitive in the development and utilization of marine resources. The competition among coastal countries for marine resources has become increasingly fierce, the political and economic structure of the world has become increasingly complicated due to the adjustment of maritime interests, and the world powers have engaged in fierce competition over maritime rights and interests, and frequently held joint law enforcement, maritime search and rescue and other military exercises, resulting in tension in the region. Due to various historical reasons, about 1.5 million to 1.9 million square kilometers are currently disputed with neighboring countries, and the situation of China's maritime security is not optimistic. The most immediate maritime security issue facing China is the security threat caused by the sovereignty dispute over islands and reefs, and the key issues of the mainland's maritime security are constantly changing, and the main security threat is the military conflict that may result from the escalation of the sovereignty dispute over the islands.
(2) Adhering to the land-sea integrated mechanism is crucial to maintaining the overall security of the country
At present, China's export-oriented economy is highly dependent on the ocean, and its dependence on the ocean is gradually increasing, and the ocean occupies an important position in the overall national security concept. Under the situation of increasingly intensified disputes over international maritime rights and interests, only by implementing the strategy of building a maritime power can the Party and the state effectively protect maritime rights and interests and enhance the soft and hard power of marine development and utilization. The mainland's maritime rule of law system is very imperfect, which is mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, there are no clear provisions on maritime issues in the mainland's constitution, resulting in a lack of strong constitutional support for maritime legislation; second, the mainland has not yet promulgated the Basic Law on the Ocean, and the various legal systems related to the maritime law are very imperfect, lacking effective protection for maritime rights and interests; third, there are still institutional deficiencies and institutional constraints in the mainland's maritime law enforcement, and the coast guard's participation in maritime law enforcement as a military force has been questioned by neighboring countries.
In order for China to become a power with global influence in the true sense, it should first build itself into a maritime power, and to achieve this grand goal, it needs to build a world-class navy and strengthen its maritime law enforcement capabilities, as well as enhance the soft power of its people's awareness of maritime power. Only by building a world-class navy, strengthening maritime law enforcement capabilities, and relying on maritime hard power can China effectively defend maritime security. At the same time, if China wants to properly handle the current complex maritime disputes, it needs to enhance its maritime soft power, which is conducive to China's peaceful rise and development and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. With the significant improvement of China's comprehensive maritime strength, this will certainly help ensure the realistic demand for resources and energy under the requirements of high-quality social and economic development, ensure that China is always in the leading position in maintaining maritime security, and realize China's strategy of peaceful rise. This requires that when implementing the maritime strategy, China should base itself on the overall strategic situation of national security and long-term development, strive to build and promote a maritime rule of law system that is compatible with China's international status, national rights and interests, and development interests, improve the maritime governance system under the overall national security concept, and continuously enhance the soft and hard power to safeguard national security.
3. The implementation path for the Party and the state to strengthen the overall planning of land and sea under the overall national security concept
Historical development shows that China's development path of integrated land and sea development is an inevitable choice for adhering to the overall national security concept, and only by implementing the linkage development of land and sea power can we gather development momentum and provide long-term impetus for China's peaceful rise. In recent years, the world's coastal powers have gradually enhanced the status of the ocean in national development and national security strategies, and the ocean has become a place of contention and competition among countries. As a result, the issue of maritime security on the mainland has gradually become prominent, and it has become the main strategic direction of national security, which is not only related to the country's sovereignty and security, but also has a bearing on the country's future development. It can be seen that by advocating the construction of a multi-level world political structure and a community with a shared future for mankind, China attaches great importance to maritime legislation, and safeguards maritime security and overall national security by combining sea and land rights.
(1) Establish a land-sea coordination mechanism that is compatible with the overall national security concept
National security efforts shall adapt to the new requirements of the new era, and truly do a good job of efforts such as preserving political security, completing national security systems and systems, improving national security strategies and policies, strengthening national security capacity-building, preventing and controlling major risks, strengthening legal safeguards, and enhancing national security awareness. Under the new situation, promoting ocean legislation and safeguarding marine security is an important part of China's participation in ocean governance, and a global ocean community with a shared future is the ultimate goal of China's participation in global ocean governance. In realizing the strategy of becoming a maritime power, China must put national interests first, take maritime security as its purpose, coordinate external and internal security, improve the maritime rule of law system, strengthen maritime governance capacity-building, and resolutely safeguard the overall national security. In the new era, it is necessary to safeguard the country's maritime rights and interests, and strive to promote the transformation of maritime rights protection to an overall and balanced nature. At present, China's maritime security is facing a series of unfavorable factors, posing a serious challenge to national security and sovereignty, and the security of maritime trade routes poses a potential threat to energy strategy and economic development, and these challenges always threaten China's maritime security and national security.
At present, we must adhere to the overall national security concept, place maritime security in the overall national security concept and consider it as a whole, and promote the in-depth understanding of the connotation of maritime security among the state, society and citizens. The continental maritime rule of law system is an important part of the global ocean governance system, and efforts by the Party and the state to improve the maritime rule of law system at the international level are important ways to maintain maritime security. China is committed to the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes under the framework of the international law of the sea, and has coordinated the relevant parties to sign the China-ROK Fisheries Agreement, the China-Japan Fisheries Agreement, and the Agreement on Joint Maritime Petroleum Development in response to the dispute over the continental shelf between China, Japan and the ROK. Paragraph 4 of Article 74 and Paragraph 4 of Article 83 of UNCLOS are temporary provisions on the settlement of international maritime disputes.
(2) Adhere to the overall planning of land and sea, and realize the transformation from traditional to modern mode in terms of economic and marine strategy
At present, China adheres to the path of peaceful development, adheres to the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes, continuously strengthens the mechanism for building maritime trust, actively carries out maritime security cooperation, and is committed to maintaining regional maritime peace and stability. It is necessary to coordinate the overall development of the two countries at home and abroad, adhere to the overall planning of land and sea, unswervingly embark on a new path of development that is rich by the sea, and harmonious with the sea and the sea, so as to achieve the goal of win-win cooperation through peaceful development. Looking at the road to the rise of the world's great powers in modern times, relying on the sea and attaching importance to sea power is the road to success. The traditional marine development model is limited to marine fishing and limited maritime trade, while the modern marine development model focuses on the comprehensive use of the ocean to promote economic development, strengthen exchanges at home and abroad, ensure national security, and achieve the strategic goal of peaceful rise. It is necessary to speed up maritime legislation, formulate a basic maritime law suited to China's national conditions, cover maritime security, safeguarding sea rights and environmental protection, incorporate the law on the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and the marine environmental protection law into the basic law of the sea, and build a maritime rule of law system with a complete structure and rich content through coordination with the Convention on the Law of the Sea. At the level of local legislation, all localities should improve the domestic maritime rule of law system by establishing and improving local laws and regulations, and give full play to the targeted role of local laws in the national maritime rule of law system. The sound economic development of the coastal cities of the mainland depends on the development of the ocean, and all localities rely on their own local characteristics to formulate marine regulations, rules and regulations, etc., such as Zhoushan, Zhejiang, relying on the advantages of the archipelago to strengthen the utilization and protection of biological resources, etc., which effectively guides the coastal marine development model.
Land-sea co-ordination is an important policy for the mainland to build a maritime power, and the overall deployment of land and sea from the perspective of national economic and social development will promote the all-round coordinated development of land and sea in terms of spatial layout, industrial development, infrastructure construction, resource development, and environmental protection. Since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made the deployment of "adhering to the overall planning of land and sea and accelerating the construction of a maritime power", the overall planning of land and sea has made important progress in the fields of institutional and mechanism construction, industry, resources, environment and regional coordinated development. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has been entrusted with the responsibility of "two unifications", representing the state to fulfill the responsibilities of the owner of all natural resource assets owned by the whole people, including marine resources, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to perform the responsibilities of protecting the national land and marine environment. The Several Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Establishing a Territorial Spatial Planning System and Supervising its Implementation, issued and implemented in 2019, further clarified that the state will establish and supervise the implementation of a territorial spatial planning system including coastal zones. The establishment of the territorial spatial planning system and system is of great significance for the unified exercise of all territorial and spatial use control and the strengthening of the ecological protection and restoration of sea and coastal zones. The land-sea co-ordination policy is closely aligned with the regional development strategy, and organically combines the development of the northern, eastern and southern marine economic zones with the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the construction of the Xiong'an New Area, the regional integration of the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Hainan Pilot Free Trade Zone.
(3) Enhance the people's awareness of maritime security through the land-sea coordination mechanism
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to "accelerate the development of the border and ensure the consolidation and security of the border." Adhere to the overall planning of land and sea, and accelerate the construction of a maritime power. "At present, in order to firmly establish the overall national security concept, we should guide the whole society to enhance the awareness of sea power, define the concept of maritime security in the new era, improve marine legislation under the participation in global ocean governance and the implementation of the strategy of maritime power, use national strength to safeguard maritime rights and interests, achieve the strategic goal of maritime security, better safeguard world peace through its own peaceful development, and promote the long-term development of a community with a shared future for mankind. The construction of a maritime power is raised to the height of the national strategy, and it is required to strengthen the cultivation of marine awareness among the whole people, and then establish the concept of a maritime power. First of all, it is necessary to foster a sense of a community with a shared future for the oceans and realize good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation between China and its neighbors. China should properly handle the contradictions with its maritime neighbors in disputed waters, strive to expand the convergence of interests of all parties concerned, and use the sea peacefully. The continental shelf and coastal islands are an important cornerstone for safeguarding maritime rights and interests, and coordination, research and special research on marine legislation should be carried out, and coastal areas should actively carry out the construction and practice of the management system of uninhabited islands, do a good job in arranging the route and preparation of materials for national island legislation research, carry out research and pilot projects on island planning and island management technical specifications, start the investigation and evaluation of island renewable energy, and study and formulate technical standards and promotion measures for the development and utilization of island renewable energy. On June 21, 2012, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs announced that, with the formal approval of the State Council, the Xisha and Zhongsha offices would be abolished, and the prefecture-level Sansha City would be established, with the municipal government located on Yongxing Island in Xisha Island. This is an important step forward in resolving the South China Sea issue, which provides a favorable opportunity to improve the maritime rule of law system and safeguard maritime security. Third, the improvement of the maritime rule of law system and the protection of maritime rights and interests should be written into the Constitution, and under the guidance of the Constitution, the maritime legislation should be strengthened and the oceans should be used rationally. According to the relevant content of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the mainland should speed up the formulation of the Basic Law on the Sea with Chinese characteristics, gradually establish many laws and regulations that are compatible with it, incorporate the development of the marine economy into the construction of ecological civilization, and clarify the strategic objectives of protecting the marine ecological environment and the utilization and development of marine resources. In recent years, the Chinese government has been in close consultation with relevant parties in maritime diplomacy to find common interests, and its maritime foreign policy is becoming more and more mature, which is of great strategic significance for expanding the scope of maritime areas under national jurisdiction and future development space in the context of maritime power.
At present, as an important part of the new international power structure, China has an important voice in the international political arena, and can promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction by participating in global ocean governance. Under the overall concept of national security, properly maintaining the overall planning of land and sea is a key and important link in realizing the reunification of the motherland, improving international relations, and enhancing national security. The Chinese nation must improve the maritime rule of law system from a strategic perspective, safeguard maritime security, and create a stable security environment for China's peaceful rise.