既有文獻忽略那些獲得合法承認之政府或能使用國際司法制度的國家，並未因此而順利解決彼此間或與北京當局間長期在南海水域的各種爭端。本文提出一個「劣勢行為者」的分析途徑，指出相較於那些能夠使用國際仲裁或得到法律承認的爭端當事方，臺灣比北京當局（實際統治中華民國大陸地區的政府）在權利主張上的立場更為彈性，且擁有較多空間與菲律賓和越南成為互惠穩定之合作夥伴。此外，有效治理和實際支配東沙島及太平島的事實，讓臺灣在南海爭端中無法被漠視，甚至有機會將自己的劣勢轉化為一定程度之優勢。

The existing literature ignores the fact that in the South China Sea territorial disputes, even legally recognized governments or countries that have access to international judicial institutions have not successfully resolved their longstanding issues both among themselves and with the Chinese government. This paper proposes a new approach - the disadvantaged actor - to demonstrate that compared to the parties mentioned above, Taiwan, despite its disadvantaged position, has a much more flexible stance than the Beijing authorities (the government that effectively rules the mainland of the Republic of China) in how to claim its rights in the South China Sea. As such, Taiwan has more space for cooperation with the Philippines and Vietnam in a reciprocal way without causing instability. Furthermore, the effective governance and actual control of the Pratas Islands and Itu Aba make it impossible to ignore Taiwan, which in turn can use this to its advantage.

臺灣;東沙島;太平島 ;南海爭端; 劣勢行為者

 Taiwan ; Pratas Island; Itu Aba Island ; South China Sea Disputes ; Disadvantaged Actor