The strategic importance of the South China Sea is mainly due to its geographical location as the area is one of world's busiest and most strategic shipping lanes. 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. 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. The Thai people are lurching towards a new political arrangement, a process that Thais have to see through for themselves. the South China Sea that would be " - S " ["permitting a leaf to obscure one's view of the mountain"]. Generally, oil and minerals move north, and food and manufactured goods move south. 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. 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 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea is an international treaty that sets out importantmaritime rules. 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. That grouping came under Chinese control an event that went almost entirely unnoticed in the wider world as the drama marking the end of the Vietnam War played out. The sea is rich in resources and holds significant strategic and political importance. 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. 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. Tackling these issues will be tricky for the United States, as many of the elites that benefit from corruption will be those with whom Washington must work to deepen ties, but this is a long-term effort worth pursuing. Washington, DC 20036. 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. From busiest . This has continued in to the present day. When Beijing froze banana imports from the Philippines in the midst of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012, it sent a clear message to its Southeast Asian neighbors: economic ties would not be immune from diplomatic contretemps. 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. 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. Many of these countries suffer from corruption and lack for effective rule of law. All countries want positive economic and security ties with both China and the United States. 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. 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. 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. by Geoffrey Hartman 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 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. The 2022 Philippine Election: Trouble for Democracy and Foreign Relations Ahead? Even then, the countrys division between royalists and red-shirts will likely endure. With the National League for Democracy now in power in Naypyidaw, China cannot rely on Burma as an automatic ally. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea (With reference to the geopolitical, economic, and military aspects) South China Sea is known as one of the most significant and dangerous cluster of Islands in the contemporary world. From the report. 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. There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. The conflict and tension over competing sovereignty claims in the South China Sea has grown considerably in the past 5-10 years. By the mid-1990s, relations with Vietnam had begun a rapidly improvement. In the past two weeks, Filipino . 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. Tokyo and Manila agreed to a strategic partnership in 2011. 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. During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. forces in the Philippines were focused primarily on aiding the Philippine military in its counterterror fight. And thus a new strategic map of Asia begins to emerge. Seventh Fleet patrolled the regions seaways, including the South China Sea, unchallenged including agreed access to ports throughout much of the region. These women are creating climate solutions, One year later: Democracy stands in Ukraine. The South China Sea has become important to the US because of China's challenge to the liberal rules-based order that America has promoted since the Pacific war. 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. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. A new arrangement for U.S. naval access to Cam Ranh Bay may well be in the offing. 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. China, of course, has important strengths in Burma. 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. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . 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. 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. director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative at Peking . In 2016, they carried fully one-third of global shipping with an estimated value of $3.4 trillion. Importance of South China Sea The South China Sea is a busy international waterway, one of the main arteries of global trade worth more than $5 trillion and is growing year on year. 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. 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. Chinas island outposts will increase this advantage as Chinese aircraft, ships, and paramilitary vessels will be able to rest and resupply in the southern portion of the South China Sea. The annual Cobra Gold exercise is Asias largest multilateral military exercise. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. 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. China's plan for populating the South China Sea was launched in 2012 when "Sansha City", the administrative centre for all Chinese-claimed features in the South China Sea on Woody Island in the . 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. Read more, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20004-3027, 2023 The Wilson Center. Burma, however, is a potential bright spot for the U.S. position in continental Southeast Asia. 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. 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. 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 It is highly likely that China will continue to upset regional stability in the SCS to expand its own sphere of influence. 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. 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. However, Brunei's insistence that specific issues in the maritime region should be . 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. This segment will address American interests. America has formal defense/security alliances with five Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia. 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. The isolationist China has never traditionally had a deep water navy, with a significant power projection capability; however the production of its first aircraft carrier (Liaoning) has been a noteworthy change from a soft power in the land environment to a hard power projection at sea stance. Aung San Suu Kyi has no interest in antagonizing Chinawhich shares a border with Burma and is a major source of foreign investmentbut nor can she afford to alienate the United States or India. 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. 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. In addition to far flung island territories (formerly occupied by Japan) in the South Pacific, the United States had a substantial military garrison in Japan and close ties with South Korea and the Philippines a former colony. 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. India will lose its current freedom of access into the South China Sea and much of Southeast Asia. China's actions in the SCSincluding extensive . Access to all three is now in doubt. 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. European access to Asia will be through Beijing. The Tribunal rejects Chinas maritime claims that go beyond the entitlements set out in the Law of the Sea Convention. It threatens the sovereignty of many nations and endangers the prosperity of the world. China tries to control the waters by using fishing vessels that are part of the Chinese maritime militia, coast guard ships, and naval vessels to harass other countries boats and deny access to this key area. 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. 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. Beijing may not find it quite as easy to run roughshod over Hanoi in the coming years. U.S. goals to uphold regional alliances and partnerships, defend international rules and norms, and maintain a productive relationship with China remain valid. Chinas claims over the legal status and maritime rights of the 9 dash line remain ambiguous and outside of UN recognised EEZ claims. Security, Strategy, and Military Dynamics in South China Sea: Cross-National Perspectives on JSTOR. Ownership claims to them are used to bolster claims to the surrounding sea and its resources. - 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. 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Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. 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. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. Japan and South Korea will face a perilous new reality with China in control of the seaborne lifeline of both countries. Today's world is the US-led where China is a rising giant economically and politically. 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. 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. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. No other state in the region can match this increase in projection and rival China due to the economic differences. "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. The USSJohn C. Stennistied up there for a few days in April. 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? See Media Page for more interview, contact, and citation details. 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. Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. or join us on Facebook. Notably, the paper identified Malaysia's maritime claims in the South China Sea as its top security concern. Thus, it is said that the South China Sea could be the battleground of World War III. In addition, tensions have been raised with the Philippines after assertive Chinese naval patrols which they described as aggressive action. In May, Australia and Singapore agreed to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In the defense realm, the CSP paves the way for more bilateral military exercises, greater Singaporean access to Australian training facilities, enhanced intelligence-sharing arrangements and expanded people-to-people exchanges. Most of China's global trade is seaborne. The neighboring South East Asian countries of the highly volatile and busiest waterways of the South China Sea (SCS) have overlapping claims of sovereignty. Washingtons relationship with Hanoi will make that more palatable. To counter Chinas 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. - Interview with Mei Gechlik, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan Spiking Tensions Between the U.S. and China: an interview with Andrew K.P. Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). You are approaching Chinese airspace. In short, adopting a more robust deterrence approach need not prevent cooperation that is in the interests of both countries. This access will allow for more frequent, more sustained flights over the South China Sea, including over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. More importantly, it also covers the most crucial energy routes for East Asian countries to transport oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. Then again, China may see its efforts in the South China Sea blunted. The United States calls this treaty the Law of the Sea Convention.. Now, the two militaries will increasingly exercise and train across a broad spectrum of military operations, from the low end to the high. April 26, 2016 There is widespread interest in the rising tensions over the waters east of China. 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 geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. The South China Sea is a strategic body of water bordering Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. Chinas military modernization has included structural reforms establishing a Joint Operations Command and five new theatre commands (Northern, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central). The South China Sea (SCS) has great strategic and economic significance in the contemporary international politico-security environment. The South China Sea is one of the most important trade pathways in the world. Final Thoughts & Looking Towards the Future. Guidelines for a South China Sea Strategy. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the SCS. The strategically important South China Sea is an increasingly prominent stage for the spiraling tensions . It has increased its military budget by over 8.5% in recent years and this is likely to continue for the near future. 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. These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. 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. 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. in the northeast, the South China Sea is one of the most important trade routes in the world. 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. It is a rich source of hydrocarbons and natural resources. 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). 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. A U.S. Navy crewman aboard a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft views a computer screen purportedly showing Chinese construction on the reclaimed land of Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. and Amy Searight. It has deep ties with the military, which still dominates key parts of the government, and is a major player in the economy. 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. This article aims to highlight security dynamics of the US-China competition in the Indo-Pacific associated with the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea through the prism of Balance of Threat Th. 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. The United States now has the opportunity to secure for another generation the peace that has held in Asia for nearly four decades now. 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 . 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. 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. But if China continues to play its cards wrong and if the United States proves itself a dependable partner, American warships could one day regularly operate out of Cam Ranh Bay, the strategically located port-of-call, for the first time since the Vietnam War. India is training crews for Vietnams new Kilo-class submarines and will sell Vietnam BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. It is the geostrategic importance that is usually the main reason for the parties to strengthen their claim over the Spratlys and the Paracels. 2014 The United States and the Philippines sign an enhanced defense pact, strengthening the U.S.-Filipino relationship. 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. In April, Australian Defence Force personnel joined the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan maneuvers, which included an amphibious landing exercise. This button displays the currently selected search type. 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). It will always have an eye on the need to protect itself against attack from the sea, but there's much more to China's vulnerability than potential invasion or bombardment. Almost all the East Asian countries are dependent on this sea. 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. 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.