As . through South China Sea Port is 1400 kms long. 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 . 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. '3 reasons' China tries to control South China Sea - Anadolu Ajans 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. The risk to Chinese power projection lies predominantly with US interests. 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. by Geoffrey Hartman Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair; Dr. Zack Cooper, Fellow, Japan Chair; Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia and Director, China Power Project; Andrew Shearer, Senior Adviser on Asia-Pacific Security; and Greg Poling, Director Asia Maritime Transparency Initiativeto provide the analytical context and some fundamental principles that should guide strategic thinking on South China Sea policy. 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. The SCS is passage of half of the world trade. 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. That claim remained shrouded in a calculated fog of ambiguity until 2010 when Secretary of State Clinton addressed the status of the South China Sea and its sea-lanes at a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Hanoi. Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of . If full democratization is her goal, there is no foreign partner more important than Washington for achieving it. (PDF) The South China Sea issue in U.S. - Vietnam relations under China's New Pressure on Taiwan in the South China Sea 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. South China Sea is a strategic sea lane is significance for connectivity, navigation, trade and resources is a global hotspot as a potential flashpoint. South China Sea: What's China's plan for its 'Great Wall of Sand'? The increasing activity of Beijing in the South China Sea, Consequences of US-China rivalry in Indo-Pacific and beyond, Balancing the giants: Australia between China and US. Notably, the paper identified Malaysia's maritime claims in the South China Sea as its top security concern. The strategic landscape of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s was remarkably benign with optimism in full flower. Importantly, American access to four airbases (with potentially more to be made available at a later date)especially those on Luzon and Palawanwill make U.S. air power resident in Southeast Asia. In short, adopting a more robust deterrence approach need not prevent cooperation that is in the interests of both countries. 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. 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. 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. Tokyo and Manila agreed to a strategic partnership in 2011. The United States can stand firm on its principles and deter China from undermining the regional order while maintaining a productive relationship. The Obama administration has made modest gains in this regard, but it will be up for to the next president to seize that opportunity and ensure that Southeast Asias future is prosperous, peaceful and free. While consistency in U.S. messaging and policy execution is important, it should be balanced by carefully calculated unpredictability in operations and tactics to prevent Beijing from becoming overly confident in its ability to anticipate U.S. reactions. 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. Shortly after the ARF concluded, an official spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry asserted Chinas indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea. Cobra Gold, hosted by Thailand and led by the United States, is the largest annual multilateral military exercise in Asia. The main route to and from Pacific and Indian ocean ports is through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea. The South China Sea (SCS) has great strategic and economic significance in the contemporary international politico-security environment. Geopolitical and Strategic Landscape of 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. India will lose its current freedom of access into the South China Sea and much of Southeast Asia. In 2016, they carried fully one-third of global shipping with an estimated value of $3.4 trillion. The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. Without the southern American presence, Chinese forces could more easily divide American forces east and west in the event of a crisis, more easily defend territorial claims or intimidate Malaysia and Indonesia, and more easily threaten maritime and air traffic crisscrossing the South China Sea. Southeast Asians do not want to and should not have to choose between the two, but Chinese behavior is moving some states to pick sidesor at least to lean in one direction or another. Follow the Asia Program on Twitter @AsiaProgram. This segment will address American interests. Yet, it was and is all of that. The South China Sea is a core interest of both Vietnam and China. 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. 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These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. 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. Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. Thats why the United States has urged countries to resolve maritime claim disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. Examining Malaysia's Evolving Policy toward the 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. The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons. (PDF) China's Strategy in the South China Sea - ResearchGate 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 also faces a challenge in enforcing international law in the South China Sea. Anti-China alliance coalescing in South China Sea - Asia Times These straws-in-the-wind gained strategic context because the PRC had long published official maps showing a boundary encompassing almost the entire South China Sea the nine-dash line.. The South China Sea is one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. That included nearly 40 percent of Chinas total trade and 90 percent of petroleum imports by China, Japan, and South Korea and nearly 6 percent of total U.S. trade. Washington, DC 20036. The sea is rich in resources and holds significant strategic and political importance. Australia will be isolated with an uncertain future. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. The end of the Cold War found East Asia and the Western Pacific strategically quiescent. Report The purpose of this thesis is to examine the South China Sea dispute and to analyze why the dispute has yet to escalate, as well as the strategic importance of the South China Sea dispute to international trade. April 26, 2016 There is widespread interest in the rising tensions over the waters east of China. Current developments in the South China Sea must be understood against the backdrop of recent history. From a strategic perspective, the geographical significance of the SCS is that whoever has dominance over it, dominates the future of East Asia. Thus, it is said that the South China Sea could be the battleground of World War III. 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. Countering Chinas efforts has become a key test of perceived U.S. commitment to many in the region. - 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. Rundell, Putin's Visit to Tehran: Results and Prospects, The Afghan Taliban Regime Amid Conflicting International Interests, The Resurgent Terrorist Threat in Pakistan: an interview with Tariq Parvez, The Complicated Upswing in U.S.-Pakistan Relations: an interview with Husain Haqqani, Pakistan-CARs ties: The Geo-Economic Vision, Neo-Petrodollar Romance: Implications and Options for Pakistan, India's Strategic Autonomy - Interview with Ambassador Rtn. In sum, the South China Sea is the immediate arena where two alternative geopolitical paradigms are contesting for supremacy. The United States can, if necessary, accept a continental Southeast Asia that leans China without major concern for Americas primary interests. The strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated. 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. A new arrangement for U.S. naval access to Cam Ranh Bay may well be in the offing. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. The area is globally important for a few reasons. 1) Islands are much more strategically valuable. 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. Learn more in our Cookie Policy. In particular, shifting explanations for how the United States will manage Chinas rising power and influencealong with the military-heavy implementation of the rebalancehave exacerbated suspicions that Washington seeks to contain Beijings rise. This access will allow for more frequent, more sustained flights over the South China Sea, including over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. 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 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. In addition, this thesis intends to propose a solution to the dispute by pulling from a variety of sources. Russia-Ukraine War Compels Japan to Reassess China Challenge, Shift