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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. These straws-in-the-wind gained strategic context because the PRC had long published official maps showing a boundary encompassing almost the entire South China Sea the nine-dash line.. India and Vietnam, while acknowledging the strategic importance of the SCS and their volatile position when it comes to China's rising power, are edging closer toward each other. All this will occur in a region that is increasingly the vibrant center of the world economy. Few in Washington were inclined to see the South China Sea as a strategic priority engaging vital U.S. national interests. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea - academia.edu If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. 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 . 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. Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). 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). American littoral combat ships are rotating through Singapore, at the South China Seas western extremis, and the city-state has also quietly built the only Asian port outside of Yokohama at which an American aircraft carrier can dock. The South China Sea is one of the most important trade pathways in the world. "First, South China Sea is important for the strategic patrol of Chinese SSBN [nuclear ballistic missile submarine], which needs to enter west Pacific Ocean for its nuclear . To that end, the region is . The South China Sea (SCS) consists of over 200 tiny islands, reefs, shoals, atolls and sandbanks grouped in to 3 archipelagos the Spratlys, the Paracels and the Pratas Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal. Why does China care so much about the South China Sea? Here are 5 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. Therefore, the US plays a key role in influencing the resolution of the SCS disputes. The United States can, if necessary, accept a continental Southeast Asia that leans China without major concern for Americas primary interests. South China Sea - Economic aspects | Britannica In December, another joint China-Russia naval exercise was held in the East China Sea (China Military Online, December 21, 2022). This has continued in to the present day. Strategic Landscape of the South China Sea: While geopolitics indicates geographical relations with politics, there is another importance which is strategic. Several countries in the area, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, make overlapping sovereignty claims over the islands and maritime rights in the SCS. Thus, it is said that the South China Sea could be the battleground of World War III. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW 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. It has also been known to give its fishermen military training for years, but recently this has been reported as more assertive with fishermen helping to underwrite and enforce sovereignty claims by occupying territory at sea, carrying out surveillance and harassing other vessels under the guise of civilian fishing boats. Why is the South China Sea contentious? - BBC News 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. Talks are focused on articles that are relevant to disaster relief, but the agreements eventual parameters could expand as the U.S.-Vietnam security relationship matures. In recent years, Chinas inventive engineering feats have allowed it to create more than 3,200 acres of new land in the South China Sea. Since the mid-1990s, China has pursued a strategy . African community leaders take home lessons from U.S. The U.S.-Thai relationship has suffered since the 2006 coup that overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra and especially since the latest coup, which saw the military take control in 2014 and stubbornly cling to power. Does US-hegemonic decline translate into a fight between democracy and autocracy in maintaining a benign world order? Such pressure should focus on concrete, near-term objectives, such as putting a stop to reeducation of regime critics. In sum, the United States has built and maintained a dense network of security links and obligations throughout East and Southeast Asia all sustained by regular contact with the Seventh Fleet as it transits the region via the South China Sea. '3 reasons' China tries to control South China Sea - Anadolu Ajans South China Sea has strategic significance for world: US, Vietnam The outcome of that contest will profoundly influence, if not shape, the 21st century world. That redundancy will grant the United States flexibility in a couple of ways. The South China Sea is one such essential waterway, made more important by the value of the sea's fisheries and subsea resources such as natural gas. Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs. 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. 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. . 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. With a maturing coast guard, navy and air force, Vietnam will become an increasingly prickly foe. 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. Nevertheless, for America, this new world will be profoundly discomfiting and even alien. STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF SOUTH CHINA SEA - academia.edu 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 . Washington, DC 20036. The sea-lanes that pass through the South China Sea are the busiest, most important, maritime waterways in the world. China's strategic reach into the South China Sea has obvious and profound implications for three sets of international actors: (1) the littoral Southeast Asian states (Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines); (2) major maritime countries heavily dependent on the sea lanes through the South China Sea (including Japan, Korea, and That should, of course, remain the goal, but Washington must recognize that Thailand is in the midst of a decade-long political crisis, which is unlikely to be resolved until after King Bhumibols passing and the royal succession is completed. 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. Although ultimately unsuccessful in Vietnam, America emerged in a surprisingly advantageous strategic position in Southeast Asia with alliances intact with Thailand and the Philippines and friendly ties with Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Hanoi and Canberra have launched a number of security dialogues and are expanding personnel exchanges, ship visits and officer training. The Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. With Burma internationally isolated for much of the past three decades, Beijing invested heavily in that countrys leadership. 1982 More than 160 nations conclude the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, an international treaty setting out the framework governing the oceans and their uses. The two countries elevated bilateral ties to an extensive strategic partnership in 2013 and Japan is in the midst of donating to Vietnam six patrol vessels (for use by the coast guard and fisheries ministry). Nevertheless, Beijing had taken its first overt step to control the South China Sea. In addition, this thesis intends to propose a solution to the dispute by pulling from a variety of sources. 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. Stay Connected! Chinese Military Expansionism in the South China Sea South China Sea - Wikipedia Persistent American military presence at the eastern, southern and western points of the compassespecially when combined with regional states advancing ISR capabilities, for which the United States is providing investmentwould enable the United States to respond rapidly to incidents in disputed island chains or to Chinese attacks on U.S. and allied naval and air assets or on commercial shipping. The United States and the West more broadly can live with such an outcome. 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. The U.S. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea - LinkedIn The United States, moreover, should work with its other Pacific alliesAustralia, South Korea and especially Japanto consider ways that they can lead efforts to expand infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia, perhaps by reforming and enlarging the Asian Development Bank or by launching a joint infrastructure investment fund. The South China Sea in Strategic Terms | Wilson Center It would also open the option of persistently jamming Chinese radar installations in the Spratlys. Geo-Strategic Significance And Importance Of South China Sea For China 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. In 2012, then Chinese president Hu Jintao voiced his desire to make China a powerful maritime nation. First, the United States should feel more confident to pressure the junta on human rights concerns. Rough Waters Ahead for Vietnam-China Relations The United States should intensify capacity building efforts with allies and partners to improve their ability to resist Chinese coercion. Today's world is the US-led where China is a rising giant economically and politically. To facilitate capacity building, Washington should preserve regional defense relationships while recognizing that the ability of the United States to partner with frontline states depends on their cooperation and adherence to good governance and human rights. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. 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. In particular Chinas maritime law enforcement in the disputed islands and waters has disrupted regional stability; causing tensions between Vietnam after a clash between Chinese patrol boats and Vietnamese oil exploration vessels. Navy P-8s are now regularly deploying to Singapore and, although without regular access, they have conducted patrols from Malaysia as well. Utapao has been suggested as a permanent Southeast Asian Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) hub. But the new maps contours truly began to crystallize earlier this year, when the Philippines Supreme Court ruled as constitutional a new defense agreement with the United States. 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. Hence, the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The China - Solomon Islands security agreement and the competition in the South China Sea. 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. The Balloon Incident and Evolution of Espionage. The United States and its Pacific allies should consider whether it is feasible and sensible to coordinate the activities of USAID, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Learn more in our Cookie Policy. The strategic importance of the SCS is mainly due to its geographical location, as the area is one of the worlds busiest and most strategic shipping lanes. At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. economic importance associated with the ocean is tremendous and manifold. The South China Sea: What's Really at Issue Strategic Culture Check out the linked article on the Belt and road initiative now. 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. Vivian Balakrishnan urges US and China to de-escalate tensions in 1994 The Convention on the Law of the Sea goes into effect. The strategically important South China Sea is an increasingly prominent stage for the spiraling tensions . According to the U.S. State Department, it has been estimated that China is effectively blocking the development of $2.5 trillion worth of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. Giving ground on vital interests in Asia will not encourage greater cooperation on global issues. European access to Asia will be through Beijing. Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. This segment will address American interests. The United States will continue to stand with our allies and partners to uphold the order that we helped build, Pencesaid. U.S. military advantage is of limited utility in this area and Washington has struggled to convince local partners to join in freedom of navigation operations. Thanks to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), American power projection capabilities will be regularly present in the Philippines for the first time since the early 1990s. Almost all the East Asian countries are dependent on this sea. But the South China Sea has been dangerously overfished. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the SCS. "American aircraft, this is the PLA air force. 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. U.S. leaders should not be afraid of tension in the U.S.-China relationship. These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. 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. U.S. access to the military facilities on the South China Seas southern flank, however, would shift the regions balance of power in Americas favor. The United States has leverage over China in areas not directly related to South China Sea and may have to consider using or threatening to use these tools to stabilize the regional order. 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. The United States has been less successful in supporting local partners as they resist Chinese coercion. In addition, tensions have been raised with the Philippines after assertive Chinese naval patrols which they described as aggressive action. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. Access to all three is now in doubt. NEW DELHI (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan urged China and the US to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South . 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. 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The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. Allied efforts to support U.S. force posture in the region will remain vital, but the United States should also expect allies to make greater contributions in responding to Chinese coercion. In April, Australian Defence Force personnel joined the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan maneuvers, which included an amphibious landing exercise. Geopolitical platform, analysis of political, military, security, economic, social events with international and geopolitics relevance. 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. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and. However, Brunei's insistence that specific issues in the maritime region should be . 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. Vietnam's strategic interests in the South China Sea: Challenges and US and China is engaging in this sea to control all significance. The United States has several enduring advantages that make regional states continue to seek it out as the security partner of choice, including the worlds best military, high favorability ratings in most local populations, and a less threatening foreign policy than that of China. (PDF) The South China Sea issue in U.S. - Vietnam relations under China has shown the most considerable increase in projection of power from all the states surrounding the SCS. Geo-Strategic Importance of the South China Sea 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. US still mired in a 'Cold War' mindset, but the tide's turning, The West is misreading Chinas Party Congress at the peril of world stability, Can Foreign Investors still have Good Reasons to be Optimistic about China? In a meeting attended by the foreign ministers of 26 nations from the broader region, Clinton simply asserted that the South China Sea was subject to multiple territorial claims and a multinational mechanism should be established to find a peaceful diplomatic solution. Most of China's global trade is seaborne. The Malacca Strait, the South China Sea and the Sino-American In sum, the South China Sea is the immediate arena where two alternative geopolitical paradigms are contesting for supremacy. In 2016, they carried fully one-third of global shipping with an estimated value of $3.4 trillion. The SCS is passage of half of the world trade. Brunei's statement seems to present a unified front with the Philippines and Vietnam, in preparation for its ASEAN chairmanship in 2021, where ASEAN and China hope to finalise the formulation of the code of conduct to reduce tensions in the South China Sea. Back in 2006, Japan became only the second country (after Russia) to establish a strategic partnership with Vietnam. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. The global focus of economic power has traditionally been centred over the west with the UK and the USA as the key contributors; however in recent years, this has shifted east (see Figure 1), with the main reason for this being rapid urbanization in developing countries, in particular China. By contrast, China views. Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years. Japan and South Korea will face a perilous new reality with China in control of the seaborne lifeline of both countries. It is growing more difficult to discuss Southeast Asia without discussing Japan, India and Australia, whose ties to the region and to each other are maturing and whose militarieswhether represented by personnel, aircraft, or warshipsare increasingly present in the region. 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. 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. 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 She also observed that the sea-lanes through the South China Sea constituted a global commons not subject to sovereign claims by any nation. Enduring U.S. interestsfreedom of navigation and overflight, support for the rules-based international order, and the peaceful resolution of disputesare at risk in the region. A South China Sea Strategy By Dan Blumenthal, Michael Auslin, and Michael Mazza I. Beware China: America Fights Back In recent years, China's inventive engineering feats have allowed it to. 2023 Center for Strategic & International Studies. Without the southern American presence, Chinese forces could more easily divide American forces east and west in the event of a crisis, more easily defend territorial claims or intimidate Malaysia and Indonesia, and more easily threaten maritime and air traffic crisscrossing the South China Sea. f) . Guidelines for a South China Sea Strategy. 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. through South China Sea Port is 1400 kms long. South China Sea: Why is it strategically important? - Clear IAS 2009 China issues two diplomatic notes that appear to claim a majority of the South China Sea. Anti-China alliance coalescing in South China Sea - Asia Times 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. Many of these countries suffer from corruption and lack for effective rule of law. South China Sea has geo-strategic, geo-politic and geo-economic importance due to half of the world trade passage and presence of precious resources of oil and gas. The area includes several hundred small islands, rocks, and reefs, with the majority located in the Paracel and Spratly Island chains. Ironically, the United States is drawing closer to communist Vietnam, in which human rights are serially abused, while growing apart from a major Vietnam War ally, largely due to concerns over democratic backsliding. The same cannot be said for China and a maritime Southeast Asia that aligns with the United States. 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. 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. If China can exert complete control over the region, using predominantly the maritime domain, it can build a significant strategic sphere of influence and power. These actions suggest that China might undermine freedom of navigation and overflight, principles of fundamental importance to the United States. More than 50% of world trade passes. 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. "First, South China Sea is important for the strategic patrol of Chinese SSBN [nuclear ballistic missile submarine], which needs to enter west Pacific Ocean for its nuclear deterrence against the US," he explained.

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