strategic importance of south china sea strategic importance of south china sea

Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs. Historically, Taiwan's pivotal location off the China coast and between Northeast and Southeast Asia has served a variety of strategic purposes for regional powers, both offensive and defensive. Cobra Gold, hosted by Thailand and led by the United States, is the largest annual multilateral military exercise in Asia. Australia and Vietnam established a Comprehensive Partnership in 2009 and agreed to expand it in 2015. 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. China, for example, has asserted a maritime claim to a large majority of the South China Sea that is not consistent with international law. The United States will continue to stand with our allies and partners to uphold the order that we helped build, Pencesaid. 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. First, the United States should feel more confident to pressure the junta on human rights concerns. A critical and early Chinese test of U.S. resolve is likely to come in the South China Sea, where Washington has struggled to respond effectively to assertive Chinese behavior. Read more, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20004-3027, 2023 The Wilson Center. Sign up to receive ShareAmerica updates. 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 Notably, the paper identified Malaysia's maritime claims in the South China Sea as its top security concern. In this article, let us look at the strategic importance of the South China Sea, History of the South China Sea Dispute, countries involved, causes, impacts, India's stand on the dispute and the way forward for the UPSC IAS Examination. In practice, Thailand may be neutral in the regions great power fissures into the next decade. 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. Australia will be isolated with an uncertain future. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. China is working hard to bring under its control the water, islands, rocks and reefs that sit within its imaginary nine-dash line. This new strategic map of Southeast Asia actually began to take shape during the Bush administration, whichinitially launchedthe effort to move beyond Americas traditional hub-and-spokes alliance model in the Asia-Pacific. 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. the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States." Chinese control of the SCS-and, more generally, Chinese domination of China's near-seas region, meaning the SCS, the East China Sea (ECS), and the Yellow Sea-could substantially aect U.S. strategic, political, and economic interests in the Indo-Pacic region and . 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. Second, the United States should feel comfortable adopting a patient approach in pushing a return to full democracy in Thailand. 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. The United States has formally objected to Chinas South China Sea maritime claims. 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. It has increased its military budget by over 8.5% in recent years and this is likely to continue for the near future. 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. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. Then again, China may see its efforts in the South China Sea blunted. As maritime security such as safety and freedom of . All Rights Reserved. The South China Sea is one of the most important trade pathways in the world. 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. There are certainly other situations involving other challenges, but this is the most plausible and dangerous. Report Guidelines for a South China Sea Strategy. Not taking a position on sovereignty allows the United States to flexibly intervene in the South China Sea to defend its interests and international rules and norms, while undercutting Chinese attempts to paint U.S. actions as a threat to Beijings sovereignty. In sum, the South China Sea is the immediate arena where two alternative geopolitical paradigms are contesting for supremacy. TheSouth China Seais one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. 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. Beyond that, there are a variety of formal security cooperation agreements with Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. 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. China, however, must now balance its continental concerns, which remain complex, against its new dependence on the maritime domain. More importantly, it also covers the most crucial energy routes for East Asian countries to transport oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. 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. All this will occur in a region that is increasingly the vibrant center of the world economy. Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of . The Thai people are lurching towards a new political arrangement, a process that Thais have to see through for themselves. Figure 4 shows the overlapping sovereignty claims in the SCS, with Chinas claims according to the 9 dash line doctrine in red. That line was given little credence or attention in the U.S. or in Asia over the first five decades of the PRCs history. 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. 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. 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. Tokyo and Manila agreed to a strategic partnership in 2011. Thats why the United States has urged countries to resolve maritime claim disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. economic importance associated with the ocean is tremendous and manifold. With the National League for Democracy now in power in Naypyidaw, China cannot rely on Burma as an automatic ally. 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. 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.. 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. Unfortunately, some countries fail to comply with the existing international law. Few in Washington were inclined to see the South China Sea as a strategic priority engaging vital U.S. national interests. The United States now has the opportunity to secure for another generation the peace that has held in Asia for nearly four decades now. 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. Hanoi will move cautiously and such access may be limited to the purposes of logistical support for the time being. Those bases may be vulnerable, but before and at the outbreak of hostilities, they will allow China to project power deep into maritime Southeast Asia, to threaten commercial and military passage through the sea, and to impose and enforce an air defense identification zone. The U.S. The outcome of that contest will profoundly influence, if not shape, the 21st century world. 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. This access will allow for more frequent, more sustained flights over the South China Sea, including over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. Vietnam's coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 kilometers long. 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. 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. 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. "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 . In 2016, they carried fully one-third of global shipping with an estimated value of $3.4 trillion. Speaking to Anadolu Agency on Thursday, Bonji Ohara, a senior fellow at the Tokyo-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation, said the marginal sea is key to China's security. February 27, 2023. 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. . Narendra Modis Act East policy has resulted in an acceleration of burgeoning India-ASEAN ties and Indias position on the South China Sea territorial disputes essentially mirrors that of the United States. In short, adopting a more robust deterrence approach need not prevent cooperation that is in the interests of both countries. These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. 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? All these aspects highlight the strategic indispensability of the South China Sea for global trade routes. 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. 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. U.S. policy in the South China Sea has been overly reliant on military options, which may not always be the most effective response. Hanoi and Canberra have launched a number of security dialogues and are expanding personnel exchanges, ship visits and officer training. 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. 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. 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. 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. China has steadily built capabilities and infrastructure, most notably military facilities on artificial islands, that enable greater control 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. Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. 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.. China, Russia and the Munich Security Conference. In a context of great power competition, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. Security, Strategy, and Military Dynamics in South China Sea: Cross-National Perspectives on JSTOR. 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? The United States and the West more broadly can live with such an outcome. Conservation values protection of marine habitat against wanton, unnecessary despoliation are also essential. These islands are large enough for military runways and well as SAM installations. Navy P-8s are now regularly deploying to Singapore and, although without regular access, they have conducted patrols from Malaysia as well. The USSJohn C. Stennistied up there for a few days in April. The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons. The same cannot be said for China and a maritime Southeast Asia that aligns with the United States. Australia, for its part, has vocally supported U.S. freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea and may have quietly conducted its own in recent months. 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. 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. 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. Therefore, the US plays a key role in influencing the resolution of the SCS disputes. 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. 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. The Tribunal rejects Chinas maritime claims that go beyond the entitlements set out in the Law of the Sea Convention. These women are creating climate solutions, One year later: Democracy stands in Ukraine. African community leaders take home lessons from U.S. "American aircraft, this is the PLA air force. The sea is rich in resources and holds significant strategic and political importance. Preserving the U.S. military edge is key to maintaining the U.S. position in Asia. director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative at Peking . Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the SCS. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. or join us on Facebook. 1) Islands are much more strategically valuable. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. 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. 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. 2014 The United States and the Philippines sign an enhanced defense pact, strengthening the U.S.-Filipino relationship. By contrast, China views. This article examines Chinas behaviour in the South China Sea disputes through the lens of its strategy for managing its claims. India is training crews for Vietnams new Kilo-class submarines and will sell Vietnam BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. India will lose its current freedom of access into the South China Sea and much of Southeast Asia. Since 2014, China has stepped up the construction of artificial islands over the disputed Spratlys and Paracels in the SCS, causing an escalation of tensions, upsetting stability. 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. Successful capacity building efforts will allow Southeast Asian states to better help themselves, bolstering deterrence against low-level Chinese coercion and allowing the U.S. military to focus more on deterring high-level contingencies. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. 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. Strategic. The Obama administrations decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Vietnam is instrumental here. The new administration should issue clear and consistent strategic messages, since inconsistent articulation of the objectives of the rebalance strategy has caused confusion in China and amongst U.S. allies and partners. Washingtons relationship with Hanoi will make that more palatable. Center for Strategic and International Studies The strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated. 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 longstanding U.S. position that it takes no position on sovereignty disputes over land features in the South China Sea, while insisting that these disputes be resolved in a peaceful fashion and in accordance with international law, is sound and should be maintained. From a strategic perspective, the geographical significance of the SCS is that whoever has dominance over it, dominates the future of East Asia. China, too, considers control of these waters to be of high strategic importance. The United States sent a carrier battle group there as well. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea. A third of the world's shipping passes through it, its fisheries are critical sources of food for millions of people. However, Brunei's insistence that specific issues in the maritime region should be . 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Convention on the Law of the Sea, an international treaty setting out the framework governing the oceans and their uses. Washington (United States of America), February 27 (ANI): A Chinese J-11 fighter jet armed with air-to-air missiles intercepted the US Navy reconnaissance jet over the South China Sea, the Wall Street Journal reported. 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. Chinas claims over the legal status and maritime rights of the 9 dash line remain ambiguous and outside of UN recognised EEZ claims. Nevertheless, Beijing had taken its first overt step to control the South China Sea. During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. forces in the Philippines were focused primarily on aiding the Philippine military in its counterterror fight. To counter China's 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. 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. 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. In 2010, the US declared its freedom of navigation in the SCS to be a national interest in response to Chinas increasingly assertive posture. The risk to Chinese power projection lies predominantly with US interests. China has become increasingly assertive in the region, and regional powers from Japan to Singapore have become alarmed at China's behavior. 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. World. 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. U.S. interests in the South China Sea fall into three broad categories including: (1) Economic interests tied to the sea-lanes; (2) Defense ties with allies and other security partners; and (3) Implications for the global balance of power and influence. 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. 5 min. With Burma internationally isolated for much of the past three decades, Beijing invested heavily in that countrys leadership. In . What countries are claiming sovereignty, and to what extent is this disrupting regional stability? The United States emerged from World War II as a resident great power in East Asia. You are approaching Chinese airspace. Utapao has been suggested as a permanent Southeast Asian Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) hub. Final Thoughts & Looking Towards the Future. Thailand, of course, has been an important security partner for the United States. 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. India has proactively engaged in the South China Sea (SCS), notably via boosting its naval presence and forging ties with Vietnam despite China's aggression. In particular, Chinas growing assertiveness over sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea could be assessed as a serious challenge to the status quo in the region. By the mid-1990s, relations with Vietnam had begun a rapidly improvement. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. If full democratization is her goal, there is no foreign partner more important than Washington for achieving it. Chinas rising military power and political influence is generating anxiety and suspicion among some of its neighbours and western powers. 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. 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 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. In recent years, U.S. military planners have shifted their focus from counterterrorism, low intensity conflict to great power, high intensity threats. Nevertheless, for America, this new world will be profoundly discomfiting and even alien. The lifting of the arms embargo also opens the door to other forms of U.S.-Vietnam security cooperation. When China moved a massive oilrig, theHaiyang Shiyou 981, into Vietnams exclusive economic zone in 2014, Vietnam had limited options to respond, at either the low end or the high. 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. South China Sea or even some part of its strategically significant zones will provide the sovereign nation state significant seat in global trade agreements. China has harassed U.S. Navy ships operating in the South China Sea, warned military flights to stay away from its artificial islands, and recently seized a U.S. drone operating in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. 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.