南海海域為印度洋與太平洋之航運要衝，亦是東亞通往中東及地中海的必經之路。九○年代以來，該海域發現蘊藏有大量石油、天然氣，加上地緣戰略和漁業資源的考量，南海逐漸成為國際強權交相競逐的熱點。周邊各鄰近國家，如越南、馬來西亞、汶萊、印尼、菲律賓等國，著眼於這些島礁的戰略意涵與潛在經濟之重要性，紛紛採取片面理由及方法主張占據相鄰的島礁，並宣稱其擁有南海海域諸群島的領土主權，藉以合理化其對南海海域的探勘，甚至進而擴充軍備力量以圖控制較佳的戰略位置，獲得較多的經濟利益。有鑒於南海海域爭端逐漸白熱化，加上中華人民共和國依其「一國兩制」政策，處處打壓我國國際生存空間，我國在南海問題上恐將喪失發言權及邊緣化。基於此，本研究認為我國應跳脫主權問題與兩岸合作的迷思，透過與周邊國家雙邊或多邊的實質具體合作，確保我國在南海問題上不被邊緣化，進而獲得在南海海域之實際利益。 The South China Sea is located between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is the main sea route from Southeast Asia to Middle East and the Mediterranean. Since 1990s, many countries has fought for the South China Sea for its billion tons of petroleum and gas as well as the numerous fishery resources. Countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, all try to occupy the islands and reefs near themselves by partial excuses and unilateral methods for the strategic and economic importance. They claim the right for territory of archipelago which allow them to explore under the sea, expand the military capacity to seize the best position and get more profits. Due to the fact that the South China Sea dispute is becoming the flashpoint in East Asia and the PRC's ＂One Country, Two System＂ policy, Taiwan's announcement right in the area is being suppressed and marginalized. This research argues that we should think outside the box of the sovereignty or the economic cooperation, and take the multilateral actions to prevent being marginalized in this dispute and try to acquire the actual benefit in the South China Sea.
