China has shown the most considerable increase in projection of power from all the states surrounding the SCS. 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. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. Southeast Asia will inevitably be rendered subordinate and compliant to Chinas will. Many of these countries suffer from corruption and lack for effective rule of law. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . The U.S. PDF The Strategic Importance of South China Sea - World Geostrategic Insights Conservation values protection of marine habitat against wanton, unnecessary despoliation are also essential. 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. 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. This article examines Chinas behaviour in the South China Sea disputes through the lens of its strategy for managing its claims. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. Why is the South China Sea so important to the US? Sun Tzu Explains China's Shaping Operations in the South China Sea What evidence is there of increased projection of Maritime Power? Other claimant states welcome U.S. involvement precisely because Washington does not favor one claimants territorial ambitions over those of the others. Hanoi and Canberra have launched a number of security dialogues and are expanding personnel exchanges, ship visits and officer training. Notably, the paper identified Malaysia's maritime claims in the South China Sea as its top security concern. The Growing Importance of Vietnam to India's South China Sea Policy 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. All this will occur in a region that is increasingly the vibrant center of the world economy. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. When it comes to trade, investment and infrastructure development, China should not be the only game in town. 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. 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. (PDF) Strategic Importance of Gwadar Port - ResearchGate 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. In . Current developments in the South China Sea must be understood against the backdrop of recent history. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. 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. 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. 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 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. 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). These actions suggest that China might undermine freedom of navigation and overflight, principles of fundamental importance to the United States. To this end, the new administration should perform an early, top-down, and thorough strategic review to enable greater consistency and effectiveness in U.S. South China Sea policy. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. The United States has formally objected to Chinas South China Sea maritime claims. 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. 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. or join us on Facebook. 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. China's Maritime Choke Points - Geopolitical Futures 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. Today's world is the US-led where China is a rising giant economically and politically. Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs. 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. China, Russia and the Munich Security Conference. The diplomatic tempest at the ARF came when U.S. security attention was preoccupied with ongoing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the global counterterrorism campaign with Osama bin Laden still at large. US and China is engaging in this sea to control all significance. South China Sea and possible options. 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. China, Asia, and the Changing Strategic Importance of the Gulf and MENA Japan and South Korea will face a perilous new reality with China in control of the seaborne lifeline of both countries. 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. Total fish stocks have been depleted by 70 to 95 percent since the 1950s. By the mid-1990s, relations with Vietnam had begun a rapidly improvement. 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. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. In addition, the United States has affirmed some responsibility for the defense of Taiwan and has close security ties with Singapore and New Zealand. 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. Security, Strategy, and Military Dynamics in South China Sea: Cross The region also is the subject of more than a dozen overlapping and interconnected disputes over who is in charge of the various islands, rocks, shoals and reefs scattered throughout the South China Sea waters. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea 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. In the past two weeks, Filipino . 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. f) . Guidelines for a South China Sea Strategy. 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 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 . 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. She also observed that the sea-lanes through the South China Sea constituted a global commons not subject to sovereign claims by any nation. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea - academia.edu The South China Sea is a strategic body of water bordering Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. What is more important from a strategic viewpoint, however, is that global energy projections that the EIA issues in the International Energy Outlook, issued in October 2021, make it clear that China and Asia will have a sharply growing dependence on MENA and Gulf petroleum exports that may well extend through 2050. 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. 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. 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. But the South China Sea has been dangerously overfished. - Interview with Ana Krstinovska, Russia's Growing Influence in the Middle East: an interview with Alexander Hoffmann, Serbia's Uneasy Balance Between Moscow and the EU: an interview with Suzana Grubjesic, Gulf States' Economic Momentum: an interview with Omar Al-Ubaydli, Prospects for Turkey-EU Relations Amid Tensions, Need to Cooperate and Lack of Trust: an interview with Nilgn Arsan Eralp, Germany's Shifting Stance in the Greek-Turkish Dispute: an interview with Ioannis P. Sotiropoulos, Bulgaria's Economic Perspectives amid Political Uncertainty and Challenges, Saudi Arabia's Reforms, Relations with the United States, and Choice of New Allies: an interview with David H. 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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. 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. China is working hard to bring under its control the water, islands, rocks and reefs that sit within its imaginary nine-dash line. The Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. The Balloon Incident and Evolution of Espionage. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. 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. Stay Connected! 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's New Pressure on Taiwan in the South China Sea 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. 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 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. 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, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and. This segment will address American interests. China and The Four Views Strategy - Modern Diplomacy Read more, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20004-3027, 2023 The Wilson Center. Beyond that, there are a variety of formal security cooperation agreements with Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Russia-Ukraine War Compels Japan to Reassess China Challenge, Shift Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). Seventh Fleet patrolled the regions seaways, including the South China Sea, unchallenged including agreed access to ports throughout much of the region. During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. forces in the Philippines were focused primarily on aiding the Philippine military in its counterterror fight. The United States needs to maintain a difficult balancing act, supporting the democratic aspirations of the Thai people while remaining a security and economic partner of choice for the elites and armed forces. Russian long-range aviation, despite performing frequent combat missions against Ukraine, is also conducting Pacific patrols, sometimes together with Chinese H-6K strategic bombers (Nikkei Asia, November 30). 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. Vietnam's coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 kilometers long. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea. 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. 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. 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. Anti-China alliance coalescing in South China Sea - Asia Times If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. 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. What countries are claiming sovereignty, and to what extent is this disrupting regional stability? 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. China has become increasingly assertive in the region, and regional powers from Japan to Singapore have become alarmed at China's behavior. China and the South China Sea | Wilson Center Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. The sea-lanes that pass through the South China Sea are the busiest, most important, maritime waterways in the world. 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. The China - Solomon Islands security agreement and the competition in the South China Sea. There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. South China Sea has strategic significance for world: US, Vietnam Beijing may not find it quite as easy to run roughshod over Hanoi in the coming years. Cobra Gold, hosted by Thailand and led by the United States, is the largest annual multilateral military exercise in Asia. 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. More importantly, it also covers the most crucial energy routes for East Asian countries to transport oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. What is the Strategic Importance of the South China Sea? The strategic signal of an Indian presence in the South China Sea 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. The geopolitical and strategic landscape of South China Sea Chinas claims over the legal status and maritime rights of the 9 dash line remain ambiguous and outside of UN recognised EEZ claims. Chinese Naval Strategy in the South China Sea: An Abundance of Noise In the contemporary era, Taiwan remains geographically at the intersection of most of East Asia's danger points. The USA have a direct connection to the area through various allies, connections and trade, and this will naturally continue. 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. Vietnam and the Philippines have also attempted to form a strategic alliance with Japan in their struggle with China in 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. - Interview with Mei Gechlik, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan Spiking Tensions Between the U.S. and China: an interview with Andrew K.P. Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of . To that end, the region is . It has deep ties with the military, which still dominates key parts of the government, and is a major player in the economy. But the South China Sea has been dangerously overfished. China is undertaking a persistent, long-term effort to establish control over the South China Sea. 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. It would also open the option of persistently jamming Chinese radar installations in the Spratlys. If full democratization is her goal, there is no foreign partner more important than Washington for achieving it. Why does China care so much about the South China Sea? Here are 5 There are certainly other situations involving other challenges, but this is the most plausible and dangerous. 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. 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. Australia will be isolated with an uncertain future. This is the first of three short essays examining the South China Sea as a first order strategic problem for the United States. The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons. South China Sea: Why is it strategically important? - Clear IAS 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. 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. 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. 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. The United States can, if necessary, accept a continental Southeast Asia that leans China without major concern for Americas primary interests. A new arrangement for U.S. naval access to Cam Ranh Bay may well be in the offing. 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It can receive large aircraft (including C-17s and C-130s); it is close to a deep seaport; and it has infrastructure capable of handling command and control systems. No other state in the region can match this increase in projection and rival China due to the economic differences. 2013 The Philippines challenges Chinas claims of historic rights and other actions in an arbitration case under the Law of the Sea Convention. 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.