In my mind, this leads to 3 key questions to base any form of analysis from: In order to understand the contention of the South China Sea and its significance, it is firstly imperative to understand the geopolitical importance of Asia, which has given rise to Chinese pre-eminence; enabling its rise to contemporary major political power on the global stage. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), it carries one-third of global shipping, carrying trillions of dollars in trade, making it a significant geopolitical water body. Few in Washington were inclined to see the South China Sea as a strategic priority engaging vital U.S. national interests. China's Claims to the South China Sea Are Unlawful. Now What? U.S. responses to Chinas South China Sea activities have been insufficient to alter Chinas behavior and have fed the narrative that China is pushing the United States out of the region. In recent years, U.S. military planners have shifted their focus from counterterrorism, low intensity conflict to great power, high intensity threats. The South China Sea in Strategic Terms | Wilson Center In each of these arenas, a successful Chinese effort to seize control of the South China Sea will have a profound impact and each is worth elaboration. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. Preserving the U.S. military edge is key to maintaining the U.S. position in Asia. Ownership claims to them are used to bolster claims to the surrounding sea and its resources. The growing size and capability of the Chinese air force, navy, and coast guard allow Beijing to consistently monitor and exercise de facto control over most of the South China Sea. Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years. . In May, Australia and Singapore agreed to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In the defense realm, the CSP paves the way for more bilateral military exercises, greater Singaporean access to Australian training facilities, enhanced intelligence-sharing arrangements and expanded people-to-people exchanges. The Art of War helps expose the motivation behind past, current, and future Chinese actions. The lifting of the arms embargo also opens the door to other forms of U.S.-Vietnam security cooperation. China perceives Vietnam as an obstacle for acquiring its control over this strategic sea. Such pressure should focus on concrete, near-term objectives, such as putting a stop to reeducation of regime critics. Total fish stocks have been depleted by 70 to 95 percent since the 1950s. From a strategic perspective, the geographical significance of the SCS is that whoever has dominance over it, dominates the future of East Asia. The same cannot be said for China and a maritime Southeast Asia that aligns with the United States. Follow the Asia Program on Twitter @AsiaProgram. To counter Chinas efforts to control the South China Sea, the United States needs a sustainable strategy to bolster its own capabilities, work more effectively with capable allies and partners, and strengthen the regional order. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. 1994 The Convention on the Law of the Sea goes into effect. First, the United States should feel more confident to pressure the junta on human rights concerns. Chinas claims over the legal status and maritime rights of the 9 dash line remain ambiguous and outside of UN recognised EEZ claims. MANILA - Major powers are wading deeper into the South China Sea in a series of moves that promise to rile China while answering US calls for like-minded nations to counter jointly Beijing's rising assertiveness in the crucial and contested maritime area. The USSJohn C. Stennistied up there for a few days in April. China, too, considers control of these waters to be of high strategic importance. Expanding U.S. access to Vietnamese facilities as described above could eventually render access to Thai facilities somewhat redundant, further weakening the institutional support for the alliance in the United States. Its strategic economic importance and its geographic location at the confluence of several spheres of influence have rendered it one of the "world's hotspots". Seventh Fleet patrolled the regions seaways, including the South China Sea, unchallenged including agreed access to ports throughout much of the region. Hanoi will move cautiously and such access may be limited to the purposes of logistical support for the time being. '3 reasons' China tries to control South China Sea - Anadolu Ajans The Malacca Strait, the South China Sea and the Sino-American Examining Malaysia's Evolving Policy toward the South China Sea In other words, his primary concern is that the rivalry over the South China Sea could derail Beijing's strong strategic focus on the Taiwan issue.25 Academic perspectives on the South China Sea are important and may actually be quite influential. What is the Strategic Importance of the South China Sea? Certainly, the ongoing reform process and the opening of relations with the United States amount to a strategic setback for Chinas position in the region. This button displays the currently selected search type. U.S. allies and partners in the region are drawing lessons from Chinese coercive behavior and the limited U.S. response to it, and some are beginning to doubt U.S. resolve and adjust their foreign policies in response. For example, targeted sanctions on Chinese companies involved in destabilizing activities could be considered. Nevertheless, Beijing had taken its first overt step to control the South China Sea. This article examines Chinas behaviour in the South China Sea disputes through the lens of its strategy for managing its claims. China, of course, has important strengths in Burma. Sun Tzu Explains China's Shaping Operations in the South China Sea South China Sea or even some part of its strategically significant zones will provide the sovereign nation state significant seat in global trade agreements. European access to Asia will be through Beijing. In 2016, they carried fully one-third of global shipping with an estimated value of $3.4 trillion. Vietnam and the Philippines have also attempted to form a strategic alliance with Japan in their struggle with China in the SCS. The U.S. and Amy Searight. That grouping came under Chinese control an event that went almost entirely unnoticed in the wider world as the drama marking the end of the Vietnam War played out. Islands in the South China Sea The islands of the South China Sea can be grouped into two island chains. The Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. 5 min. The area marked with a blue line is based on the UNCLOS 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) relating to each countrys claims and the islands marked in green are the ones over which sovereignty is disputed. The United States has an interest in seeing that these partners maintain their strategic autonomy, but capacity building efforts to help them resist coercion are not keeping pace with Chinas growing capabilities. The United States should intensify capacity building efforts with allies and partners to improve their ability to resist Chinese coercion. Three years ago an arbitration tribunal issued a decision finding that Chinas maritime claims in the South China Sea are inconsistent with the Law of the Sea Convention. It is little surprise, then, that Southeast Asian states are drawing closer to the United Statesboth seeking aid in developing their own defense capabilities and hoping that stronger ties act as a deterrent to Chinese assertiveness. Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of . Why is the South China Sea so important to the US? 1. The most important and least tangible stake in the South China Sea concerns the preservation (or not) of a regional rules-based order supported by U.S. power. In 2012, Vietnam and the Philippines sought to consolidate their partnership and alliance with the US in order to enhance their strategic position over SCS disputes. The SCS is passage of half of the world trade. Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair; Dr. Zack Cooper, Fellow, Japan Chair; Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia and Director, China Power Project; Andrew Shearer, Senior Adviser on Asia-Pacific Security; and Greg Poling, Director Asia Maritime Transparency Initiativeto provide the analytical context and some fundamental principles that should guide strategic thinking on South China Sea policy. In addition, the United States has affirmed some responsibility for the defense of Taiwan and has close security ties with Singapore and New Zealand. But if China continues to play its cards wrong and if the United States proves itself a dependable partner, American warships could one day regularly operate out of Cam Ranh Bay, the strategically located port-of-call, for the first time since the Vietnam War. China is working hard to bring under its control the water, islands, rocks and reefs that sit within its imaginary nine-dash line. Conservation values protection of marine habitat against wanton, unnecessary despoliation are also essential. Even then, the countrys division between royalists and red-shirts will likely endure. China and The Four Views Strategy - Modern Diplomacy Dispersed American forces would act as countermeasure and would complicate defense planning for the Chinese military and political calculations for Beijing, while ensuring U.S. forces are positioned to support each other in the event of a crisis. Navy P-8s are now regularly deploying to Singapore and, although without regular access, they have conducted patrols from Malaysia as well. China's Maritime Choke Points - Geopolitical Futures Southeast Asians do not want to and should not have to choose between the two, but Chinese behavior is moving some states to pick sidesor at least to lean in one direction or another. Any such assertion must rest on an understanding that critical U.S. national interests, including both economic and security interests, are at stake and at risk. Therefore, the SCS has geopolitical and geostrategic importance for the energy and economic security of China and East Asian countries; but also for the USA as $1.2 trillion of its trade moves through the waters. access to Thailands military facilities, particularly the strategically located and well-equipped Utapao airbase, is considered invaluable. In particular, shifting explanations for how the United States will manage Chinas rising power and influencealong with the military-heavy implementation of the rebalancehave exacerbated suspicions that Washington seeks to contain Beijings rise. Most of China's contested land borders were remote areas with few people, natural resources or clear military utility. America has formal defense/security alliances with five Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia. This order embodies certain foundational political principles respect for international law, preservation of the real sovereign independence of regional states, a refusal to legitimate unilateral territorial expansion, and the unconditional acceptance of the sea-lanes as a global commons. It threatens the sovereignty of many nations and endangers the prosperity of the world. China tries to control the waters by using fishing vessels that are part of the Chinese maritime militia, coast guard ships, and naval vessels to harass other countries boats and deny access to this key area. This is the first of three short essays examining the South China Sea as a first order strategic problem for the United States. Not only Vietnam is the strongest opponent of the Chinese nine-dash line claim in the region, Vietnam's sustained economic growth has pushed it to emerge as an important player in the South East Asia, which China perceives is not in its interests. Pexels India-China Indo-Pacific South China Sea Signalling is important international relations. The United States calls this treaty the Law of the Sea Convention.. Even if Beijings island-building campaign succeeds in turning the South China Sea into a Chinese lake, it will be one in which Chinese forces are constantly monitored and from which they can only depart with implicit American acquiescence. It is unlikely that any states in the region possess the wealth and power to oppose this, although there is always a realistic possibility that they may receive backing from the USA if it is in their interests. Cross-Strait relations: The strategic importance of Taiwan U.S. access to the South China Sea is coming under increasing threat as Chinese power increases, but can be preserved if the United States maintains a sufficient military advantage over China. In . However, there were a number of reasons to conclude that the line was no cartographic anomaly; it was an official indication of Beijings contention that the sovereign territory of China included the South China Sea. As a result of this shift, China now seeks to control sea lines of communication, ensure national prosperity and continue economic growth and national greatness; the South China Sea plays a massive part in this. The strategic importance of the SCS is mainly due to its geographical location, as the area is one of the world's busiest and most strategic shipping lanes. Yet, it was and is all of that. Geopolitical platform, analysis of political, military, security, economic, social events with international and geopolitics relevance. Miguel . Other claimant states welcome U.S. involvement precisely because Washington does not favor one claimants territorial ambitions over those of the others. Marcos Jr. had previously said his country would pursue oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea even without a deal with China, which claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South . The new administration should provide authoritative explanations of these operations and not alter their schedule in response to Chinese pressure. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. TheSouth China Seais one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. In October 2020, Hong Kong's air traffic control denied a Taiwanese flight access to Pratas Island, a Taiwan-occupied feature in the South China Sea. (PDF) China's Strategy in the South China Sea - ResearchGate The Obama administrations decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Vietnam is instrumental here. February 27, 2023. The U.S. militarys enhanced ability to loiter in and over the South China Sea, moreover, will facilitate more effective efforts to track Chinese submarines sailing from the PLANs underground naval base on Hainan island. Learn more in our Cookie Policy. The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons. Malaysia's Diplomacy in the South China Sea: Between the Devil and the That redundancy will grant the United States flexibility in a couple of ways. More than half of the world's fishing vessels are in the South China Sea, and millions of people depend on these waters for their food and livelihoods. However, Brunei's insistence that specific issues in the maritime region should be . All Rights Reserved, Japans Emerging Role as the Worlds Consensus Builder, Balancing Acts in U.S. Southeast Asia Policy, Pakistans Foreign Policy Priorities: A Conversation with Foreign Minister by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Indias Economic Ambitions in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Paving the Path to Soft Power: Crucial Moments in South Koreas Cultural Policies, Afghanistan: The United States Must Stay Engaged. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea - academia.edu Should they be neutral, China may lord over the southern reaches of the South China Sea from military bases on its newly created and expanded islands in the Spratlys. Diplomatic, informational, legal, and economic responses are currently underrepresented in U.S. China policy, and their incorporation into the policy toolkit will be important for successfully dissuading China over the long-term. South China Sea: What's China's plan for its 'Great Wall of Sand'? When it comes to trade, investment and infrastructure development, China should not be the only game in town. Aung San Suu Kyi has no interest in antagonizing Chinawhich shares a border with Burma and is a major source of foreign investmentbut nor can she afford to alienate the United States or India. WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the disputed South China Sea has a strategic significance for the international community and any "unlawful" restriction on the freedom of the seas will destabilise peace in the Asia-Pacific region. Washington, DC 20036. Geo-Strategic Importance of the South China Sea by Geoffrey Hartman 2009 China issues two diplomatic notes that appear to claim a majority of the South China Sea. STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF SOUTH CHINA SEA - academia.edu Shortly after the ARF concluded, an official spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry asserted Chinas indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea. Importantly, the countries of maritime Southeast Asia are not aligning only with the United States, but with a grouping of external states concerned with the nature of Chinas rise. It is a rich source of hydrocarbons and natural resources. This concept of regional order links tightly to a broader set of interests, values, and institutions embodied in the post-World War II international system a system that reflects U.S. values, U.S. leadership and is consonant with U.S. interests. It remains entirely plausible that any Chinese strategy could have a long term goal of possessing the power to deny US or western warships access to the SCS, with China largely laying claim to most of the area as it's own waters. If Chinese coercion goes unchallenged by the United States, it will send a dangerous signal about the strength of the U.S. alliance system and lessen the appeal of the United States as a security partner. Douglas R. Bush, Deterring a Cross-Strait Conflict: Beijing's Assessment of Evolving U.S. Strategy, Rethinking Humanitarian Aid: A Conversation with Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA, The South China Sea Some Fundamental Strategic Principles, Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, Energy Security and Climate Change Program. Access to all three is now in doubt. Beijing has also been careful to avoid estranging Aung San Suu Kyi and adopted a largely pragmatic approach to the countrys transition away from authoritarian rule. Walter Lohman hasdescribedCobra Gold as an achievement that has proved useful for military missions, such as joint patrols of vital sea lanes, and noncombat missions, such as disaster relief following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Burma.. The South China Sea, or South East Asian Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean.It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands . Sun Tzu Explains China's Shaping Operations in the South China Sea. She also observed that the sea-lanes through the South China Sea constituted a global commons not subject to sovereign claims by any nation. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the SCS. It is one in which China dominates the South China Sea from the north; the United States and its partners dominate the eastern and western edges of the sea; and the bulk of continental Southeast Asian states (Thailand, Cambodia and Laos) are either neutral or aligned more closely with China. Thailand has little reason to jettison the alliance, but in the near term the United States may need to accept more distant ties and a closer Thai-Chinese relationship. Any temptation to alter U.S. policies in the South China Sea to preserve cooperation with China in other areas is unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. through South China Sea Port is 1400 kms long. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea | Geollect Vivian Balakrishnan urges US and China to de-escalate tensions in The strategic landscape of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s was remarkably benign with optimism in full flower. economic importance associated with the ocean is tremendous and manifold. Today's world is the US-led where China is a rising giant economically and politically. Vietnam already flies modern Russian fighter jets and is expecting delivery this year of its sixth and final Kilo-class submarinesubmarines so quiet that the U.S. Navy refers to them as black holes. If the Chinese Navy wants to have its way in the South China Sea, it will have to dedicate resources to tracking those subs, a task with which the PLAN has limited experience. You are approaching Chinese airspace. Sign up to receive ShareAmerica updates. Why Is the South China Sea Important? - Money Morning 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW In order to understand the contention of the South China Sea and its significance, it is firstly imperative to understand the geopolitical importance of Asia, which has given rise to Chinese pre-eminence; enabling its rise to contemporary major political power on the global stage. China has adopted an increasingly assertive posture towards its own claims by elevating it to a core interest, strengthening its fishery law enforcement and building civilian and military facilities in the disputed islands and waters. The Korean War produced formal defense treaties with each of these countries plus a new, permanent military presence in South Korea. With the National League for Democracy now in power in Naypyidaw, China cannot rely on Burma as an automatic ally. The Growing Importance of Vietnam to India's South China Sea Policy If China succeeds, in displacing U.S. power in the Western Pacific and Chinese territorial expansion into the South China Sea becomes permanent and codified, global geopolitics will have entered a new and very different era. China has seized the initiative in the South China Sea, however, and the United States needs to revamp its strategy to reverse current trends and escape the trap of reactive and ineffectual policymaking. In 1974, Chinese gunboats attacked and defeated a small South Vietnamese military outpost in the Paracels an archipelago of reefs, atolls, and islets in the South China Sea. Importantly, the Air Forces presence on Luzon, perhaps to be followed by regular naval rotations in Subic Bay, will put the United States in a better position to quickly seal up the Luzon Strait, which links the South China Sea to the Philippine Sea and the wider Pacific Ocean. China's New Pressure on Taiwan in the South China Sea Rough Waters Ahead for Vietnam-China Relations Giving ground on vital interests in Asia will not encourage greater cooperation on global issues. The most likely single scenario for a major military engagement against a great power adversary would be one against China centered on the South China Sea. These women are creating climate solutions, One year later: Democracy stands in Ukraine. . If full democratization is her goal, there is no foreign partner more important than Washington for achieving it. U.S. Navy/Handout[/caption]. Moving forward, freedom of navigation and routine presence operations should be executed on a regular basis to demonstrate U.S. resolve to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. For example, the Spratly Islands are claimed in entirety by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia; each except Brunei occupies some of the islands. Utapao has been suggested as a permanent Southeast Asian Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) hub. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. But addressing the risks of its near seas means tackling the time-consuming and costly project of building, training and deploying a stronger blue-water navy while also establishing a greater . But as it does so, it acts as midwife to a very real strategic realignment in Southeast Asia, one which promises to benefit the United States and its partners. In addition to far flung island territories (formerly occupied by Japan) in the South Pacific, the United States had a substantial military garrison in Japan and close ties with South Korea and the Philippines a former colony. Accordingly, Malaysia's note verbale serves as the strongest stance of Malaysia on the SCS in recent times and aligns itself with the top priority of its DWP. As maritime security such as safety and freedom of . That line was given little credence or attention in the U.S. or in Asia over the first five decades of the PRCs history. The United States also faces a challenge in enforcing international law in the South China Sea. Southeast Asia will inevitably be rendered subordinate and compliant to Chinas will. U.S. leaders should not be afraid of tension in the U.S.-China relationship. Chinas island outposts will increase this advantage as Chinese aircraft, ships, and paramilitary vessels will be able to rest and resupply in the southern portion of the South China Sea. As the pivot of global economy continues to move east it is highly likely that 21st century geopolitics will continue to revolve around Asia and the SCS. In the near term, this could lead to sales of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment as well as patrol boats to allow Hanoi to better keep an eye on goings-on in the western South China Sea. The South China Sea is the gateway to access to the world ocean, the nexus for navigation as well as a security fence for several littoral states. What countries are claiming sovereignty, and to what extent is this disrupting regional stability? 2013 The Philippines challenges Chinas claims of historic rights and other actions in an arbitration case under the Law of the Sea Convention. In December, another joint China-Russia naval exercise was held in the East China Sea (China Military Online, December 21, 2022). All countries want positive economic and security ties with both China and the United States.

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