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. The post-war regional order. Chinas military modernization has included structural reforms establishing a Joint Operations Command and five new theatre commands (Northern, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central). The USSJohn C. Stennistied up there for a few days in April. The United States now has the opportunity to secure for another generation the peace that has held in Asia for nearly four decades now. 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. Follow the Asia Program on Twitter @AsiaProgram. The largest and most powerful of these . In particular, Thailand has a much more benign outlook on Chinas rise and on its activities in the South China Sea, and although suggestions that Bangkok would dump Washington for Beijing are certainly overstated, Thai elites are hesitant to be drawn into what they see as a U.S. effort to contain the kingdoms largest trade partner. For example, the Spratly Islands are claimed in entirety by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and in part by Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia; each except Brunei occupies some of the islands. Expanding U.S. access to Vietnamese facilities as described above could eventually render access to Thai facilities somewhat redundant, further weakening the institutional support for the alliance in the United States. 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 1974, Chinese gunboats attacked and defeated a small South Vietnamese military outpost in the Paracels an archipelago of reefs, atolls, and islets in the South China Sea. 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 reaction of the Chinese Foreign Minister was incendiary and revealing. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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. Thats why the United States has urged countries to resolve maritime claim disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. The same cannot be said for China and a maritime Southeast Asia that aligns with the United States. What evidence is there of increased projection of Maritime Power? The South China Sea (SCS) consists of over 200 tiny islands, reefs, shoals, atolls and sandbanks grouped in to 3 archipelagos the Spratlys, the Paracels and the Pratas Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal. 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). There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. The United States has formally objected to Chinas South China Sea maritime claims. 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. In 2012, then Chinese president Hu Jintao voiced his desire to make China a powerful maritime nation. Figure 3 highlights the influenced areas. The United States emerged from World War II as a resident great power in East Asia. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. Although ultimately unsuccessful in Vietnam, America emerged in a surprisingly advantageous strategic position in Southeast Asia with alliances intact with Thailand and the Philippines and friendly ties with Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and. The lifting of the arms embargo also opens the door to other forms of U.S.-Vietnam security cooperation. In such a complex environment, it is important to have well-established, recognizable rules of international law. During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. forces in the Philippines were focused primarily on aiding the Philippine military in its counterterror fight. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. This has continued in to the present day. It was the first time that had ever occurred. 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. 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. 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. 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. Nevertheless, Beijing had taken its first overt step to control the South China Sea. These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. 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). It is little surprise, then, that Southeast Asian states are drawing closer to the United Statesboth seeking aid in developing their own defense capabilities and hoping that stronger ties act as a deterrent to Chinese assertiveness. 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. Sun Tzu Explains China's Shaping Operations in the South China Sea. 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. All this will occur in a region that is increasingly the vibrant center of the world economy. This access will allow for more frequent, more sustained flights over the South China Sea, including over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. Therefore, the US plays a key role in influencing the resolution of the SCS disputes. The Obama administrations decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Vietnam is instrumental here. 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. 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. . 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 . Tokyo and Manila agreed to a strategic partnership in 2011. Abstract. Close allies such as Australia and Japan have a great deal to offer in terms of capability and capacity, and should be encouraged to do more. 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. . Recent satellite analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies shows that Chinese fishing fleets are engaged in paramilitary work on behalf of the state rather than the commercial enterprise of fishing, the organization reported. 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. It is the geostrategic importance that is usually the main reason for the parties to strengthen their claim over the Spratlys and the Paracels. By the mid-1990s, relations with Vietnam had begun a rapidly improvement. The South China Sea is a core interest of both Vietnam and China. 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. 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. The strategically important South China Sea is an increasingly prominent stage for the spiraling tensions . Talks are focused on articles that are relevant to disaster relief, but the agreements eventual parameters could expand as the U.S.-Vietnam security relationship matures. 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.. 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. China is already providing indications of how it might act when it controls the South China Sea. But in order to achieve renewed stability in the regionto ensure that Southeast Asians are not susceptible to non-military Chinese coercionthe United States must strive to become more than just the security partner of choice. Sign up to receive ShareAmerica updates. Giving ground on vital interests in Asia will not encourage greater cooperation on global issues. 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. If this sounds overstated or overwrought it is not. Countries across the region prioritized economic growth and modernization. The South China Sea is one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. Seventh Fleet patrolled the regions seaways, including the South China Sea, unchallenged including agreed access to ports throughout much of the region. Chinas significant increase in spending and capability of its maritime forces is of note. 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 United States has an interest in seeing that these partners maintain their strategic autonomy, but capacity building efforts to help them resist coercion are not keeping pace with Chinas growing capabilities. Conservation values protection of marine habitat against wanton, unnecessary despoliation are also essential. We will defend freedom of the seas and skies.. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . The South China Sea is one such essential waterway, made more important by the value of the sea's fisheries and subsea resources such as natural gas. All Rights Reserved. South China Sea is a strategic sea lane is significance for connectivity, navigation, trade and resources is a global hotspot as a potential flashpoint. The United States has been less successful in supporting local partners as they resist Chinese coercion. With a maturing coast guard, navy and air force, Vietnam will become an increasingly prickly foe. China, of course, has important strengths in Burma. The area includes several hundred small islands, rocks, and reefs, with the majority located in the Paracel and Spratly Island chains. Instead, perceptions of weakness may encourage leaders in Beijing to embrace more assertive behavior. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. China's actions in the SCSincluding extensive . The main route to and from Pacific and Indian ocean ports is through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. Burma, however, is a potential bright spot for the U.S. position in continental Southeast Asia. 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. 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. Such pressure should focus on concrete, near-term objectives, such as putting a stop to reeducation of regime critics. April 26, 2016 There is widespread interest in the rising tensions over the waters east of China. 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? 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. 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.
strategic importance of south china sea