自從邁入二十一世紀以來，中國憑藉其快速崛起的國力，儼然已成為東亞地區的區域霸權。為了展現其霸權的地位，中國除了不斷地對周邊鄰國釋出利益誘因，以吸引鄰國的認同之外；同時也積極展現其權力手段（包括制裁、政策誘因和意識型態），藉以迫使鄰國接受其國家意志。誠然，就中國而言，「利誘」和「示威」或許都是該國展現霸權的必要選項，但是如何在「自我利益體現」和「公共利益考量」上取得平衡，似乎才是決定中國霸權本質的關鍵。誠然，對於菲律賓的南海主權爭議，中國同樣也面臨了「自我利益」和「公共利益」的抉擇困境。基於此，本文嘗試以2012年的「中菲南海爭議事件」為例，分別就「區域大國的角色扮演」、「大國的權力伸張」和「對境外強權的領域宣示」等面向進行剖析，藉此檢視中國到底是維護「公共利益」的「善霸」抑或僅是關注「自我利益」的「惡霸」？

Since entering the 21st century, China, with rapid rise of strength, seems to have become a regional hegemony in East Asia Region. In order to demonstrate her hegemon power, China, on the one hand, constantly released lots of interests for neighbor countries to win their recognition. One the other hand, China also makes use of influential measures, such as sanctions, policy incentives, and ideology, to force its neighbors accepting her political will. It is true that inducement and demonstration are the necessary options for demonstrating China’s hegemony. However, the key point is how to strike a balance between “self-interest embodied” and “public interest considerations.” Regarding the South China Sea sovereignty dispute, China seems to encountering a choice dilemma on self-interest and public interest as well. Thus, this paper attempts to analyze this controversy of South China Sea in 2012, as well as to explore the essence of China hegemony toward East Asian countries.