The strategically important South China Sea is an increasingly prominent stage for the spiraling tensions . With a new Southeast Asian strategic alignment taking shape as described, geography makes Indonesia and Malaysiaespecially due to its Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneothe regions key swing states. 5 min. 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. China has become increasingly assertive in the region, and regional powers from Japan to Singapore have become alarmed at China's behavior. Coral reefs, which are vital to marine habitats, have been declining by 16 percent per decade, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 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. You are approaching Chinese airspace. Pexels India-China Indo-Pacific South China Sea Signalling is important international relations. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the South China Sea dispute and to analyze why the dispute has yet to escalate, as well as the strategic importance of the South China Sea dispute to international trade. While consistency in U.S. messaging and policy execution is important, it should be balanced by carefully calculated unpredictability in operations and tactics to prevent Beijing from becoming overly confident in its ability to anticipate U.S. reactions. Even then, the countrys division between royalists and red-shirts will likely endure. The South China Sea is not only economically important for Malaysia as a maritime nation, but it is also as important from the perspective of national security. Many of these countries suffer from corruption and lack for effective rule of law. In practice, Thailand may be neutral in the regions great power fissures into the next decade. The strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated. A U.S. Navy crewman aboard a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft views a computer screen purportedly showing Chinese construction on the reclaimed land of Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. In a first, a Modi-Obamajoint statementlast year explicitly raised concerns over the South China Sea and called on all parties to avoid the threat or use of force and pursue resolution of territorial and maritime disputes through all peaceful means.. This segment will address American interests. These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition: A Conversation with Hon. The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. 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. The third will assess the policies/strategies currently employed by the United States in this arena as well as other plausible options. 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. 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 . Now, the two militaries will increasingly exercise and train across a broad spectrum of military operations, from the low end to the high. See Media Page for more interview, contact, and citation details. - Interview with Mei Gechlik, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan Spiking Tensions Between the U.S. and China: an interview with Andrew K.P. Media Relations Manager, External Relations. Giving ground on vital interests in Asia will not encourage greater cooperation on global issues. We will defend freedom of the seas and skies.. 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. China perceives Vietnam as an obstacle for acquiring its control over this strategic sea. . A third of the world's shipping passes through it, its fisheries are critical sources of food for millions of people. This geo strategic significance is the main reason behind the fact that China and other territorial stakeholders are contesting to gain control of these maritime lane. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. 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. As sovereignty over the SCS involves Chinas economic, energy and national security interests it is highly likely that the increased projection of maritime power will continue. Report The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the SCS. Shortly after the ARF concluded, an official spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry asserted Chinas indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea. . Post-Mao China, with the emergence of Deng Xiaoping as paramount leader, became a major constructive presence dedicated to economic development fueled by opening the Middle Kingdom to the region and the world. Unfortunately, the allies now lack a shared strategic outlook, thus reducing the impetus to overcome recent bilateral political hurdles. More than 50% of world trade passes through the Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait over the islands and waters of the SCS amounting to around $5 trillion. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . 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. In addition to fishing grounds, the South China Sea contains an abundance of energy resources, . Meanwhile, Japan is providing ten new multi-role vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard; Manila is also interested in procuring used P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Tokyo. By the mid-1990s, relations with Vietnam had begun a rapidly improvement. Such access would complement the renewed U.S. presence in the Philippines; facilitate a regular American presence in the western part of the South China Sea; enable the United States to more easily defendor seal upthe Malacca Strait; and, it should be noted, put American forces within striking distance of major Chinese bases on Hainan, including port facilities that host Chinas ballistic missile submarines. 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. But the South China Sea has been dangerously overfished. 2023 Center for Strategic & International Studies. The South China Sea is considered a "near sea" and its geographic proximity to the mainland is central to the China's strategic imagination and threat perception. The United States has been largely successful at preserving its own freedom of action and deterring outright Chinese aggression in the South China Sea through routine presence operations. Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. Currently, President Xi Jinping makes frequent references to Chinas possession of the South China Sea since ancient times an assertion that lacks any validity historically or legally. More than half of the worlds fishing vessels are in the South China Sea, and millions of people depend on these waters for their food and livelihoods. 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. Importance of South China Sea The South China Sea is a busy international waterway, one of the main arteries of global trade worth more than $5 trillion and is growing year on year. Despite all that, Beijing now faces a competition with Washington (and Delhi and Tokyo) for influence in Naypyidaw. With a maturing coast guard, navy and air force, Vietnam will become an increasingly prickly foe. The security assurances provided by the U.S. military presence coupled with the advent of regional institutions, notably ASEAN and the Asian Development Bank, nurtured that growth. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. Figure 4 shows the overlapping sovereignty claims in the SCS, with Chinas claims according to the 9 dash line doctrine in red. China has constructed more than 3,000 acres of artificial islands, and although this is not illegal, it is an intimidating display of wealth and power. When Beijing froze banana imports from the Philippines in the midst of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012, it sent a clear message to its Southeast Asian neighbors: economic ties would not be immune from diplomatic contretemps. The United States needs to consider a wider variety of non-military responses to Chinas efforts to control the South China Sea, and more effectively build a local coalition to support these responses. By the end of the 1970s, communist insurgencies outside Indochina had been effectively suppressed. The credibility of U.S. security support for allies and partners will be shredded. How that competition will evolve remains to be seen, but the very fact of the contest should be understood as a reversal of fortune for China. That line was given little credence or attention in the U.S. or in Asia over the first five decades of the PRCs history. This alignment will further U.S. goals: to continue to mount a forward defense, to keep the seas and skies free, and to promote prosperity and the spread of democracy. China is already providing indications of how it might act when it controls the South China Sea. Inconsistent messaging and policiesincluding on freedom of navigation and routine presence operationshave also led to confusion in the region. 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. Such pressure should focus on concrete, near-term objectives, such as putting a stop to reeducation of regime critics. All this will occur in a region that is increasingly the vibrant center of the world economy. Journals and books. As building of military facilities continued in 2015, the US explicitly announced its opposition to these constructions and tasked surveillance assets to conduct over flights in the SCS and significantly raised tensions. LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Indeed, when push came to shove, China would force its bilateral partners to choose between economic prosperity on the one hand and security and even sovereignty on the other. It is clear that increased maritime power projection in the SCS, from the Chinese in particular, has upset regional stability, and this is likely to continue. In 1995, the Philippines discovered that China had occupied and militarized an atoll (Mischief Reef) well within the Philippines EEZ and within maritime territory claimed by Manila. And thus a new strategic map of Asia begins to emerge. China's actions in the SCSincluding extensive . European access to Asia will be through Beijing. South China Sea is also strategically important due to the rising competition between China, Vietnam, Philippine and the US for military supremacy in the Asia-Pacific region. 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. In December, another joint China-Russia naval exercise was held in the East China Sea (China Military Online, December 21, 2022). 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. First, the United States should feel more confident to pressure the junta on human rights concerns. U.S. Navy/Handout[/caption]. As the new administration sets out to revamp U.S. strategy in the South China Sea, it should keep the following guidelines in mind: Although Chinese cooperation is necessary to address some regional and global issuessuch as North Koreas belligerent behavior and climate changethe United States should not be held hostage by concerns that a more robust deterrence strategy will thwart bilateral cooperation. In April, Australian Defence Force personnel joined the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan maneuvers, which included an amphibious landing exercise. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. Less sexy but no less important is a forthcoming arrangement by which Vietnam will allow the United States military to preposition supplies and equipment in Da Nang on the central coast. "American aircraft, this is the PLA air force. Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). The outcome of that contest will profoundly influence, if not shape, the 21st century world. 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. There are certainly other situations involving other challenges, but this is the most plausible and dangerous. Japan and South Korea will face a perilous new reality with China in control of the seaborne lifeline of both countries. Thats why the United States has urged countries to resolve maritime claim disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. Close allies such as Australia and Japan have a great deal to offer in terms of capability and capacity, and should be encouraged to do more. 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. Current developments in the South China Sea must be understood against the backdrop of recent history. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. Southeast Asia will inevitably be rendered subordinate and compliant to Chinas will. . The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea. Finally, the United States should prioritize governance issues in its relations with Southeast Asian states. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. the South China Sea that would be " - S " ["permitting a leaf to obscure one's view of the mountain"]. 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. In addition, tensions have been raised with the Philippines after assertive Chinese naval patrols which they described as aggressive action. To understand the statement we have to have a particular knowledge over the issue and have to look over the geopolitical and strategic importance of South China Sea. by M A Hossain 3 March 2023 The geostrategic significance of Bangladesh derives from its strategic location at the crossroads of South and Southeast Asia, endowing it with a pivotal role in the re China has shown it is willing to accept substantial risk to achieve its ends, and has engaged in outright coercion against weaker neighbors like the Philippines and Vietnam. But in order to achieve renewed stability in the regionto ensure that Southeast Asians are not susceptible to non-military Chinese coercionthe United States must strive to become more than just the security partner of choice. The primary challenge to American regional predominance came from Maoist China first through the Korean War and then via communist insurgencies throughout Southeast Asia culminating in the Vietnam War (1963-75). 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. The U.S. military used Utapao for refueling efforts during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s, as well as for multinational relief efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and April 2015 Nepal earthquake., The U.S.-Thai alliance has also served as a platform for important training exercises.
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