Yet, due to Turkey's strategic importance, the US cannot afford to affront Mr. Erdogan, who carries a peculiar . 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 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 South China Sea is basically China's export waterway to Africa and to Europe (among other markets), but in order for China's enemy (aspiring conqueror), America, to harm and weaken China maximally, and to use the United Nations assisting in that aggression, America and its allies have cast this vital trade-waterway as being instead basically just an area to be exploited for oil and gas . Washingtons relationship with Hanoi will make that more palatable. Back in 2006, Japan became only the second country (after Russia) to establish a strategic partnership with Vietnam. It was the first time that had ever occurred. 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. 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 strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. 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 . f) . The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons. Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. From busiest . The Obama administrations decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Vietnam is instrumental here. It is highly likely that China will continue to upset regional stability in the SCS to expand its own sphere of influence. economic importance associated with the ocean is tremendous and manifold. 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. 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. 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. Vietnam's coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 kilometers long. by Geoffrey Hartman The 2022 Philippine Election: Trouble for Democracy and Foreign Relations Ahead? 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. 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. The SCS is passage of half of the world trade. and Amy Searight. 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 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. China, Russia and the Munich Security Conference. The annual Cobra Gold exercise is Asias largest multilateral military exercise. 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. Chinas claims over the legal status and maritime rights of the 9 dash line remain ambiguous and outside of UN recognised EEZ claims. Thats why the United States has urged countries to resolve maritime claim disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. 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. There are certainly other situations involving other challenges, but this is the most plausible and dangerous. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. February 27, 2023. By contrast, China views. Total fish stocks have been depleted by 70 to 95 percent since the 1950s. 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. What is the Strategic Importance of the South China Sea? The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. Navy P-8s are now regularly deploying to Singapore and, although without regular access, they have conducted patrols from Malaysia as well. From a strategic perspective, the geographical significance of the SCS is that whoever has dominance over it, dominates the future of East Asia. 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. The new administration should provide authoritative explanations of these operations and not alter their schedule in response to Chinese pressure. 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. 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. India is training crews for Vietnams new Kilo-class submarines and will sell Vietnam BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. It is a rich source of hydrocarbons and natural resources. This puts more pressure on Washington to intervene and U.S. allies and partners in Asia are watching carefully and drawing conclusions about U.S. commitment and staying power in the region. 2013 The Philippines challenges Chinas claims of historic rights and other actions in an arbitration case under the Law of the Sea Convention. U.S. policy in the South China Sea has been overly reliant on military options, which may not always be the most effective response. 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. The United States has been less successful in supporting local partners as they resist Chinese coercion. 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. The reaction of the Chinese Foreign Minister was incendiary and revealing. In addition to conventional concerns about territorial defense, the South China Sea is also important for China because of its nationalist claims to all of the tiny land . 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. These women are creating climate solutions, One year later: Democracy stands in Ukraine. 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 main route to and from Pacific and Indian ocean ports is through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea. 2014 The United States and the Philippines sign an enhanced defense pact, strengthening the U.S.-Filipino relationship. 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. in the northeast, the South China Sea is one of the most important trade routes in the world. The United States and the West more broadly can live with such an outcome. 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. 1994 The Convention on the Law of the Sea goes into effect. 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. What countries are claiming sovereignty, and to what extent is this disrupting regional stability? 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. Beijing may not find it quite as easy to run roughshod over Hanoi in the coming years. 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. The same cannot be said for China and a maritime Southeast Asia that aligns with the United States. The United States should intensify capacity building efforts with allies and partners to improve their ability to resist Chinese coercion. China, however, must now balance its continental concerns, which remain complex, against its new dependence on the maritime domain. The sea-lanes that pass through the South China Sea are the busiest, most important, maritime waterways in the world. 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. 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. Now, the two militaries will increasingly exercise and train across a broad spectrum of military operations, from the low end to the high. Australia and Vietnam established a Comprehensive Partnership in 2009 and agreed to expand it in 2015. 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. 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? The strategic signal of an Indian presence in the South China Sea Harsh V. Pant India has wider stakes in South China Sea as nearly 55% of India's trade with the Indo-Pacific region passes through these waters. Shortly after the ARF concluded, an official spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry asserted Chinas indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea. 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. To that end, the region is . In addition, tensions have been raised with the Philippines after assertive Chinese naval patrols which they described as aggressive action. The three core areas that must be defended and secured are the Malay Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. Vietnam and the Philippines have also attempted to form a strategic alliance with Japan in their struggle with China in the SCS. The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea is an international treaty that sets out importantmaritime rules. 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. 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. President Musharraf requested China to invest in this important strategic chokepoint in the Indian Ocean., to which China agreed. In addition, this thesis intends to propose a solution to the dispute by pulling from a variety of sources. 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. 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. Because of its location, this sea is extremely strategic because it connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Malacca). The USSJohn C. Stennistied up there for a few days in April.
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