The Impact of Maritime Crime in the South China Sea on Regional Convergence

The waters of the South Sea of China are among the important international shipping lines and the artery of the world's sea routes.More than half of the world's trade and one-third of shipping is crossing the area. In recent years, the southern shore of the southern shore of China, especially the tin of Malacca and the Solo-Sulawesi Sea (the blue border of three Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines), has been very important for the economic and political development of the countries of the region due to its geographic and geo-economic status. However, maritime trade in this water zone has faced increasing challenges in the field of maritime security threats in recent years. The most important elements of maritime security in the region include piracy, maritime terrorism, human trafficking (one example of organized crime), illegal fishing and marine pollution caused by oil and gas fields at sea. In this area, maritime surveillance is also used as a tactic and source of income for groups associated with terrorist activities and extremism (the Abu Sayf terrorist group).... On the one hand, a significant part of the regional trade in ASEAN is carried out through this sea. The research question is, what is the international and regional legal structure dealing with theft and maritime terrorism? In response to this question, it has been shown that regional states and trans-regional powers display different behaviors. The present study was conducted using descriptive and analytical methods.