strategic importance of south china sea

Hanoi will move cautiously and such access may be limited to the purposes of logistical support for the time being. 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. 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. 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. 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. The United States emerged from World War II as a resident great power in East Asia. China has shown the most considerable increase in projection of power from all the states surrounding the SCS. Conservation values protection of marine habitat against wanton, unnecessary despoliation are also essential. 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. 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. Preserving the U.S. military edge is key to maintaining the U.S. position in Asia. 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. The outcome of that contest will profoundly influence, if not shape, the 21st century world. These factors combined give a strategic importance to the South China Sea that has led to numerous states Brunei, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam each pressing their own claims to . The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea. China's actions in the SCSincluding extensive . 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. 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. We will defend freedom of the seas and skies.. The strategic value of the alliance remains high, according to theCongressional Research Service: *** U.S. The U.S. 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. 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. Chinas rising military power and political influence is generating anxiety and suspicion among some of its neighbours and western powers. 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. 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. Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs. Vietnam's coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 kilometers long. 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. From the report. 1) Islands are much more strategically valuable. India has likewise pursued deeper defense ties with Vietnam, and Indian warships just made port calls at Cam Ranh Bay and Subic Bay while en route to trilateral naval exercises with the United States and Japan in the Western Pacific. In such a complex environment, it is important to have well-established, recognizable rules of international law. In sum, the South China Sea is the immediate arena where two alternative geopolitical paradigms are contesting for supremacy. 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. China remains uncompromising on sovereignty, has increased its capability to enforce its de facto control in disputed areas, and has sought to advance its claims while staying below the threshold for direct military conflict with the United States. 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. The result has been to heighten tensions and allow Chinese forces to more easily project military power across the region. Even then, the countrys division between royalists and red-shirts will likely endure. Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition: A Conversation with Hon. The refusal, likely prompted by Beijing, might seem to be just another way for China to put pressure on Taiwan, which it has long regarded as a renegade province. Nevertheless, Beijing had taken its first overt step to control the South China Sea. U.S. goals to uphold regional alliances and partnerships, defend international rules and norms, and maintain a productive relationship with China remain valid. 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. It remains entirely plausible that any Chinese strategy could have a long term goal of possessing the power to deny US or western warships access to the SCS, with China largely laying claim to most of the area as it's own waters. If full democratization is her goal, there is no foreign partner more important than Washington for achieving it. That redundancy will grant the United States flexibility in a couple of ways. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. The 2022 Philippine Election: Trouble for Democracy and Foreign Relations Ahead? 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. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. More than 50% of world trade passes. 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. 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 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 . 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. Unfortunately, some countries fail to comply with the existing international law. In practice, Thailand may be neutral in the regions great power fissures into the next decade. The sea-lanes that pass through the South China Sea are the busiest, most important, maritime waterways in the world. 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. Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years. 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 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. 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. 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. and Amy Searight. Hence, the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Instead, perceptions of weakness may encourage leaders in Beijing to embrace more assertive behavior. The United States should continue to prioritize military presence in the Asia-Pacific at the same time as it invests in key capabilities, such as long-range precision strike, undersea warfare, cyber/space systems, and other capabilities that will preserve the U.S. ability to deter Chinese aggression. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. 2009 China issues two diplomatic notes that appear to claim a majority of the South China Sea. Miguel . It has increased its military budget by over 8.5% in recent years and this is likely to continue for the near future. Thus, it is said that the South China Sea could be the battleground of World War III. The USA have a direct connection to the area through various allies, connections and trade, and this will naturally continue. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . India has proactively engaged in the South China Sea (SCS), notably via boosting its naval presence and forging ties with Vietnam despite China's aggression. With a maturing coast guard, navy and air force, Vietnam will become an increasingly prickly foe. 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. 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? China, however, must now balance its continental concerns, which remain complex, against its new dependence on the maritime domain. This principled stand allows the United States to defend its interests without embroiling itself in the murky sovereignty claims at the heart of the South China Sea dispute. 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. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. 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. It has deep ties with the military, which still dominates key parts of the government, and is a major player in the economy. 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. WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the disputed South China Sea has a strategic significance for the international community and any "unlawful" restriction on the freedom of the seas will destabilise peace in the Asia-Pacific region. In other words, his primary concern is that the rivalry over the South China Sea could derail Beijing's strong strategic focus on the Taiwan issue.25 Academic perspectives on the South China Sea are important and may actually be quite influential. U.S. policy in the South China Sea has been overly reliant on military options, which may not always be the most effective response. Washington, DC 20036. 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. Figure 4 shows the overlapping sovereignty claims in the SCS, with Chinas claims according to the 9 dash line doctrine in red. 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. 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. Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. 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.. 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. Cobra Gold, hosted by Thailand and led by the United States, is the largest annual multilateral military exercise in Asia. Vietnam and the Philippines have also attempted to form a strategic alliance with Japan in their struggle with China in the SCS. 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. 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 U.S.-Thai relationship has suffered since the 2006 coup that overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra and especially since the latest coup, which saw the military take control in 2014 and stubbornly cling to power. "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. How that competition will evolve remains to be seen, but the very fact of the contest should be understood as a reversal of fortune for China. South China Sea or even some part of its strategically significant zones will provide the sovereign nation state significant seat in global trade agreements. The United States can stand firm on its principles and deter China from undermining the regional order while maintaining a productive relationship. through South China Sea Port is 1400 kms long. However, there were a number of reasons to conclude that the line was no cartographic anomaly; it was an official indication of Beijings contention that the sovereign territory of China included the South China Sea. These islands are large enough for military runways and well as SAM installations. Countries across the region prioritized economic growth and modernization. Washingtons relationship with Hanoi will make that more palatable. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Second, the United States should feel comfortable adopting a patient approach in pushing a return to full democracy in Thailand. Meanwhile, Japan is providing ten new multi-role vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard; Manila is also interested in procuring used P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Tokyo. Since the mid-1990s, China has pursued a strategy . 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.

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