Abstract: The theory on collective actions can provide a new insight into the dilemma of the joint development of the South China Sea. That individual rationality leads to collective irrationality is the fundamental cause of the dilemma of collective actions and lies responsible for the dilemma of the joint development of the South China Sea which basically behaves in the dilemma of structure, function, and process. Selective excitation, structural optimization, and the contribution of a power are three effective choices to overcome the dilemma of the joint development of the South China Sea. The success of the joint development of the South China Sea strongly depends on its solution of the collective action problems