RIVALRY OVER THE SOUTH CHINA SEA: AMERICA’S INTERESTS VERSUS CHINA’S ASSERTIVENESS OF SOVEREIGNTY


Book Description

This book focuses on China’s claims for sovereignty over the disputed islands by presenting certain documents that prove its ownership of the islands. Despite occasional skirmishes between China and the other concerned parties over this long and complex dispute, the desire to resort to diplomatic and peaceful means for solving it has been emphasized by all the disputing countries, in order to reach a settlement acceptable to all.




The South China Sea Dispute


Book Description

Tensions are on the rise in the South China Sea. Longstanding sovereignty disputes over the profusion of atolls, shoals, and reefs that dot the 1.2 million square miles of sea, allied to extensive overlapping claims to maritime space, have been a source of serious interstate contention over the years, especially during the 1990s. Tensions eased briefly in the first half of this decade, due in part to China's more accommodating and flexible attitude, which was part of a diplomatic charm offensive toward Southeast Asia intended to assuage regional anxieties over the country's growing economic, political, and military clout. Over the past several years, however, China has reverted to a more assertive posture in consolidating its jurisdictional claims, expanding its military reach, and seeking to undermine the claims of other states through coercive diplomacy. The South China Sea Dispute critically assesses the contentious sovereignty disputes and provides insights into the sources of growing tension in the region.




US-China Competition and the South China Sea Disputes


Book Description

Traditionally, the South China Sea (SCS) issue was not on the negotiation table between the United States and China. However, the tensions between the United States and China over the SCS have gradually simmered up to a strategic level. Why and how did the SCS become a flashpoint between the United States and China? Will the United States and China really go to war over the SCS? Why did China adopt an "assertive" policy towards the South China Sea in the 2000s? What will regional actors do in the face of this "new normal" of competition between China and the United States? Will multilateral institutions in the Asia Pacific alleviate the potential conflicts over the SCS disputes? How will US-Chinese competition in the SCS shape the dynamics of Asian security? This edited book addresses these questions systematically and theoretically, with contributions from leading scholars in the field of US-China relations and Asian security from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. It elevates the analysis of the SCS disputes from maritime and legal issues to the strategic level between the United States and China.




The United States Involvement in the South China Sea Dispute


Book Description

The book describes American strategies in the South China Sea, and argues that the degree of U.S. involvement in the maritime dispute mainly depends on three factors, namely its Asia-Pacific strategy and interest demand, its strategy towards China, and the speed of China's rise and how the U.S. perceives it.




The South China Sea


Book Description

"As a primary trade route for more than half of the world's shipping, the location of potentially huge oil and gas reserves, and the main source of protein in maritime South- East Asia, the South China Sea is a governing determinant of security, prosperity and development in East Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region. The disputes in the South China Sea have long been seen as a source of tension and instability in the region. Although peace has been maintained until now, the South China Sea is the epicentre of changes in the international balance of power which have the potential to trigger military conflict. The South China Sea sovereignty disputes are among the most complicated in the world and engage claims from Brunei, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Given the complex convergence of national interests in the region, the prospect of settling the decades-old disputes completely is very slim"--




The South China Sea


Book Description

As an important commercial gateway and a rich source of natural resources, the South China Sea holds great economic and strategic significance. This is manifested not only in the conflicting territorial and maritime claims of the coastal states, but also in the simmering geopolitical rivalry between an increasingly self-assertive China and a United States bent on 'rebalancing' China's growing power in the region. This new DIIS report by Andreas Bøje Forsby examines recent development trends in the South China Sea, focusing primarily on three key areas: China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, the rebalancing efforts of the United States in the region and the recently-concluded arbitration case between the Philippines and China concerning their maritime dispute in the South China Sea. The report argues, firstly, that China's growing maritime assertiveness constitutes the main driver behind the heightened tensions and periodic clashes that have recently plagued the South China Sea. And secondly, that the US strategic rebalance in the region, notably the media-hyped freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, tends to exacerbate existing tensions, thus raising the specter of a comprehensive US-Chinese rivalry in the years to come. On the surface of it, the South China Sea may seem of limited interest from a Danish perspective. However, the report points out how the South China Sea disputes can undermine important aspects of a rule-based maritime order and ultimately force Denmark to choose sides if a full-fledged Sino-American rivalry materializes.




China's Maritime Disputes in the East and South China Seas


Book Description

Today's hearing will cover China's maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas. We'll examine the security, political, legal, and economic drivers of these disputes in our three panels today. The first panel will begin by discussing the broad security situation on the high seas. As China's maritime forces have become more capable over the past decade, Beijing has become more confident in its ability to assert its claims in the disputed areas. Beyond China's "hard" security concerns, however, other domestic, political, and legal elements shape China's policy in the East and South China Seas. Our second panel will consider popular nationalism as one of these elements. It has become a key driver of Chinese foreign policy as personality politics in Beijing has given way to a collective leadership seeking Party legitimacy. We'll conclude with a panel on how resources and economic drivers shape China's maritime disputes. Security of China's near seas is critical to the unimpeded flow of trade and imported energy resources. Though the natural resources in the East and South China Sea undoubtedly shape the security landscape, there appears to be a debate on the centrality of oil and gas resources to the dispute.




Security, Strategy, and Military Dynamics in the South China Sea


Book Description

This volume brings together international experts to provide fresh perspectives on geopolitical concerns in the South China Sea. The book considers the interests and security strategies of each of the nations with a claim to ownership and jurisdiction in the Sea. Examining contexts including the region’s natural resources and China’s behaviour, the book also assesses the motivations and approaches of other states in Asia and further afield. This is an accessible, even-handed and comprehensive examination of current and future rivalries and challenges in one of the most strategically important and militarized maritime regions of the world.




The South China Sea


Book Description

China’s rise has upset the global balance of power, and the first place to feel the strain is Beijing’s back yard: the South China Sea. For decades tensions have smoldered in the region, but today the threat of a direct confrontation among superpowers grows ever more likely. This important book is the first to make clear sense of the South Sea disputes. Bill Hayton, a journalist with extensive experience in the region, examines the high stakes involved for rival nations that include Vietnam, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and China, as well as the United States, Russia, and others. Hayton also lays out the daunting obstacles that stand in the way of peaceful resolution. Through lively stories of individuals who have shaped current conflicts—businessmen, scientists, shippers, archaeologists, soldiers, diplomats, and more—Hayton makes understandable the complex history and contemporary reality of the South China Sea. He underscores its crucial importance as the passageway for half the world’s merchant shipping and one-third of its oil and gas. Whoever controls these waters controls the access between Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific. The author critiques various claims and positions (that China has historic claim to the Sea, for example), overturns conventional wisdoms (such as America’s overblown fears of China’s nationalism and military resurgence), and outlines what the future may hold for this clamorous region of international rivalry.




After Engagement


Book Description

" From cooperation to a new cold war: is this the future for today's two great powers? U.S. policy toward China is at an inflection point. For more than a generation, since the 1970s, a near-consensus view in the United States supported engagement with China, with the aim of integrating China into the U.S.-led international order. By the latter part of the 2010s, that consensus had collapsed as a much more powerful and increasingly assertive China was seen as a strategic rival to theUnited States. How the two countries tackle issues affecting the most important bilateral relationship in the world will significantly shape overall international relations for years to come. In this timely book, leading scholars of U.S.-China relations and China's foreign policy address recent changes in American assessments of China's capabilities and intentions and consider potential risks to international security, the significance of a shifting international distribution of power, problems of misperception, and the risk of conflicts. China's military modernization, its advancing technology, and its Belt and Road Initiative, as well as regional concerns, such as the South China Sea disputes, relations with Japan, and tensions on the Korean Peninsula, receive special focus. "