Why is the South China Sea contentious? - BBC News 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. South China Sea - Wikipedia Chinas militarization and territorial expansion in the South China Sea is illegal and dangerous, Vice President Pence said at the East Asia Summit last year. There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. Strategic Landscape of the South China Sea: While geopolitics indicates geographical relations with politics, there is another importance which is strategic. World. Unfortunately, the allies now lack a shared strategic outlook, thus reducing the impetus to overcome recent bilateral political hurdles. 1994 The Convention on the Law of the Sea goes into effect. Final Thoughts & Looking Towards the Future. The USSJohn C. Stennistied up there for a few days in April. At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. 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? As one of the busiest trade routes in the world and home to a wealth of marine and mineral resources, the South China Sea holds great economic and geostrategic importance. 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. Australia will be isolated with an uncertain future. South China Sea is a strategic sea lane is significance for connectivity, navigation, trade and resources is a global hotspot as a potential flashpoint. Due to the strategic importance of the area, China will continue to establish a maritime power in the SCS as the most dominant player among states in the region. The risk to Chinese power projection lies predominantly with US interests. 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. (PDF) The South China Sea issue in U.S. - Vietnam relations under 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. The Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. The Asia Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the worlds most populous and economically dynamic region. Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). It has increased its military budget by over 8.5% in recent years and this is likely to continue for the near future. The South China Sea in Strategic Terms | Wilson Center What is the Strategic Importance of the South China Sea? 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. In recent years, U.S. military planners have shifted their focus from counterterrorism, low intensity conflict to great power, high intensity threats. 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. 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. By the mid-1990s, relations with Vietnam had begun a rapidly improvement. Should those ties continue to expand, moreover, the United States may find that it has greater flexibility in dealing with a vexing regional ally: Thailand. Anil Trigunayat, 5th Generation Warfare: A Real Global Warming (Alarming) and its Implications for Pakistan, The Geopolitics of Indo-Pacific: the Rise of India and the Possible Challenges for Pakistan, 75 Years of Pakistan's Independence: Audit of Achievements and Failures, Bacterial Attack on Azerbaijani Oil a fictitious scenario, Pakistan, from the Shackles of Oligarchy to the Emergence of Democracy, Impact of Climate Change on Flood-Stricken People in Balochistan, Dimensions of Religion: Use, Misuse and Beyond, Breaking Free from Fossil Fuels: Why Nuclear Energy is Significant for Pakistan, Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education and Scientific Research: an interview with Fatima Roumate, Dalits, the Bottom of Indias Caste Ladder. For example, targeted sanctions on Chinese companies involved in destabilizing activities could be considered. 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 practice, Thailand may be neutral in the regions great power fissures into the next decade. The end of the Cold War found East Asia and the Western Pacific strategically quiescent. 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 South China Sea. China has tried to effectively annex the whole South China Sea region as its territorial waters, according to Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). 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. Beijings moves have prompted Washington to counter Chinese assertiveness by forging a new strategic alignment in the regionone in which China dominates the South China Sea from the north, the United States and its partners do so from the east and west, and the states of continental Southeast Asia remain neutral or lean toward Beijing in the intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition. These women are creating climate solutions, One year later: Democracy stands in Ukraine. Importance of the South China Sea for the US and China and their PDF Beyond Territorial Disputes In The South China Sea Legal Frameworks For 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. With the incoming administration likely to grapple early with South China Sea issues, the CSIS Southeast Asia Program, directed by Dr. Amy Searight, worked in collaboration with other Asia colleagues at CSISDr. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea | Geollect 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. The strategic landscape of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s was remarkably benign with optimism in full flower. 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. 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. 1. The largest and most powerful of these . 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 new administration should provide authoritative explanations of these operations and not alter their schedule in response to Chinese pressure. 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. Geographical Significance and Natural Reserves in the South China Sea 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. The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea is an international treaty that sets out importantmaritime rules. 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. 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. 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. Chinese missiles on the mainland already hold all U.S. Asian bases at risk. 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. More importantly, it also covers the most crucial energy routes for East Asian countries to transport oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. 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 . Leung, The Consequences of Conquest: Why Indo-Pacific Power Hinges on Taiwan, United States vs China: from Partnership to Antagonism - Interview with Alfredo Toro Hardy, How the Ukraine War changes Global Geopolitics, What The Economist omits to address in President Xi's vision of a global security order, Armenia: Trapped in Between Interview with Gayane Novikova, How Chinas COVID Policy Reversal Impacts Globally: an interview with Neeraj Singh Manha, Marcos-Xi Durian Diplomacy Climbs to Higher Gear, Is the EU Really Willing to Enlarge in the Western Balkans? Yet, it was and is all of that. Vietnam's strategic interests in the South China Sea: Challenges and by Geoffrey Hartman PDF Countries South China Sea Overview - Energy Information Administration This principled stand allows the United States to defend its interests without embroiling itself in the murky sovereignty claims at the heart of the South China Sea dispute. The two major power of the world i.e. The power politics, military interests created the South China Sea more important. Vietnam's coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 kilometers long. . 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. All this will occur in a region that is increasingly the vibrant center of the world economy. TheSouth China Seais one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. In particular, Thailand has a much more benign outlook on Chinas rise and on its activities in the South China Sea, and although suggestions that Bangkok would dump Washington for Beijing are certainly overstated, Thai elites are hesitant to be drawn into what they see as a U.S. effort to contain the kingdoms largest trade partner. 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. 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. South China Sea: What's China's plan for its 'Great Wall of Sand'? In 1989 troops from the Peoples Liberation Army entered Tiananmen Square and terminated the student-led democracy demonstrations and hundreds died. 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. The increasing activity of Beijing in the South China Sea, Consequences of US-China rivalry in Indo-Pacific and beyond, Balancing the giants: Australia between China and US. 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. Seventh Fleet patrolled the regions seaways, including the South China Sea, unchallenged including agreed access to ports throughout much of the region. In 2010, the US declared its freedom of navigation in the SCS to be a national interest in response to Chinas increasingly assertive posture. Why Is the South China Sea Important? - Money Morning 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. 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. All these aspects highlight the strategic indispensability of the South China Sea for global trade routes. A South China Sea Strategy | American Enterprise Institute - AEI The United States will continue to stand with our allies and partners to uphold the order that we helped build, Pencesaid. Such pressure should focus on concrete, near-term objectives, such as putting a stop to reeducation of regime critics. Hence, the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. These factors combined give a strategic importance to the South China Sea that has led to numerous states Brunei, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam each pressing their own claims to . 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 U.S. The United States has been less successful in supporting local partners as they resist Chinese coercion. When it comes to trade, investment and infrastructure development, China should not be the only game in town. The Obama administrations decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Vietnam is instrumental here. The strategic value of the alliance remains high, according to theCongressional Research Service: *** U.S. Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. 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". 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). Geopolitical and Strategic Landscape of South China Sea 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). Abstract. The strategic signal of an Indian presence in the South China Sea 2009 China issues two diplomatic notes that appear to claim a majority of the South China Sea. You are approaching Chinese airspace. The United States emerged from World War II as a resident great power in East Asia. Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. With Burma internationally isolated for much of the past three decades, Beijing invested heavily in that countrys leadership. 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. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal.

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