The South China Sea: a Place of Rivalry and Power Management

Beyond Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea, 2013

The South China Sea ranks among the most geographically and geopolitically complex ocean spaces in the world. It certainly appears to have been one of its most vigorously contested, featuring multiple, longstanding and competing territorial and maritime jurisdictional claims. The objective of this chapter is to provide the geographical and geopolitical background to the frequently conflicting national maritime claims made by the South China Sea littoral States. This exercise is designed to provide the necessary contextual backdrop to considerations of the application of maritime joint development mechanisms and/or other provisional arrangements of a practical nature in the South China Sea. With this in mind, key characteristics of the coastal geography of the South China Sea are outlined, notably the implications of its semienclosed nature and the baselines that have been defined along its coasts. The insular features of the South China Sea, many of which are subject to conflicting sovereignty claims, are then examined with particular reference to their potential maritime claims and role in the delimitation of maritime boundaries. The chapter then outlines the maritime jurisdictional claims of the South China Sea coastal States, including existing maritime boundary agreements and maritime joint development zones, as well as unilateral and historical maritime claims. Accordingly, a spatial picture of the maritime geography of the South China Sea including the locations and extents of claims to maritime jurisdiction is built up. The chapter then proceeds to highlight the main geopolitical factors that arguably serve as key drivers for the South China Sea disputes. These include longstanding yet still powerful sovereignty imperatives, significant and growing marine resource interests and energy security concerns, crucial navigational and maritime trade considerations and evolving military and strategic factors.

Shodh Pravah, 2019

China's aspiration to become a maritime power is evident through its naval expansion in the South China Sea (SCS). In the past two decades China's activities in the SCS has increased rapidly. Chinese naval expansion, infrastructure development and its territorial claim in SCS has created concern in the region. This paper aims to explore the current situation of the SCS and examines the China's interest in the region. The current paper has analysed the SCS disputes and traces the core issues of the conflict in the region. Moreover, the paper also discussed the other claimant countries at general and explores the significance of SCS for China as well as the entire region. The current paper also highlights the geopolitics in the region and the China's naval strategy in the SCS.

KMI International Journal of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, 2010

The South China Sea provides a critical passage to a significant volume of global seaborne trade and a lifeline for East Asian economies which depend on energy imports from the Middle East. The Sea also features stunning mega biodiversity and rich fishing ground and is believed to contain prolific deposits of hydrocarbon energy resources. Several nations in the region are involved in overlapping territorial claims in the Sea. Some claimants have defended their interests in a vigorous manner which have led to conflicts and in the Sea. It is feared that if not managed and settled amicably, these claims may turn the Sea into a flashpoint that will threaten regional prosperity and stability. This paper highlights the economic and strategic importance of this strategic body of water as a prelude to discussing the overlapping claims by several nations on parts of the sea. It warns against overzealous acts by nations to stake their claims that may pose a threat to security, stability and prosperity in the region and may invite the presence of outside powers keen to capitalize on such situation. It strongly advocates using trade and economic development as a common denominators to foster cooperation among the nations as a way to ease tension arising from their claims in the sea. The paper recommends several policy optionsincluding introducing a binding Code of Conduct, exploring joint exploration and increasing cooperation in are s such as navigation safety and resource managementtowards making the Sea a platform of prosperity for its littoral nations.

The South China Sea dispute which has spilled over from the twentieth to the twenty-first century, is yet to find an amicable solution. The root cause of this tension is the dispute among the various claimants as regards the procurement of energy resources and securing territorial legitimacy. The entry of the US into the picture has further complicated the problem. In order to evolve a congenial regional environment, the disputing countries must evolve a collaborative outlook, not confrontationist, and adopt a regional perspective rather than proceed from their national interest only and take recourse to multilateral mechanisms as a means to reduce tension in the region. If the prognosis that the '21st century is the century of Asia' is to be made a reality, then the economic prosperity and development of the Asian region will be essential, for which, all the disputing countries should change their mindset from local to global level and keep the South China Sea region as less tensionprone as possible. Vietnam's relations with China have involved a complex interplay of threats, conquest and domination, based on national interest and ideology. For over a thousand years, the Vietnamese have time and again felt a threat to their independence from the north. The historical record clearly exhibits that China had annexed Vietnam many times. However, on several occasions, though Chinese invasions were successfully resisted by the Vietnamese armed forces, armed conflicts proved to be costly enterprises, involving heavy damage of property, great

International Journal of Advanced Academic Research (IJAAR), 2018

Ever since Deng Xiaoping " s 1978 economic reform began fully in 1979, the People " s Republic of China (PRC), for more than three decades now, has been experiencing an unprecedented economic growth rate of 9-10%. The " economic miracle " that ensued the economic reform has in effect not only transformed the communist State from a Third World country to an emerging economic power, but also an ascending military power which under the leadership of the incumbent President, Xi Jinping, has become more assertive in the disputed South China Sea like never before. The approximately 3.5 square kilometres South China Sea (SCS), is a semi-enclosed geostrategic sea in the Western Pacific region. Over the years, the control and ownership of the sea " s waterways, geographic features and natural resources led to contested sovereignty and jurisdiction claims between the heavyweight, China and the diminutive littoral States – Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei that imperfectly ring the South China Sea. This paper therefore, take first and foremost, a critical look at whether rising China " s growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea is legally justifiable, and lastly, to consider the roles international law and diplomacy can play in the peaceful resolution of the multifaceted South China Sea disputes. The research methodology for this paper includes the historical and analytical approach as well as the qualitative method of data collection.

South China sea disputes have been an ongoing geopolitical issue for many years for China and surrounding countries that shared the parts of the sea. The issue became more complicated as China has grown into Political and Economical strong power in the region.

The area of the South China Sea is one of the most contested regions in the world, with six countries claiming sovereignty over portions of the sea and China-Taiwan claiming sovereignty over all the region. Compounding complicated issues related to geographic sovereignty and the Law of the Sea are requirements for economic growth and sustainment influenced heavily by the varied demography and geology of the region. Along with these issues is the requirement of the countries within the region to balance the rising local power of China against the distant super power of the United States. All of which is exacerbated by the possible mineral and oil and natural gas reserves yet undiscovered in Deepwater, reserves which have the potential to provide the low-cost local energy critical to continued economic expansion of China and her seven neighbors in the region. This paper will provide insight into the interplay between sovereignty, natural resources, demography and power within the area of the South China Sea and provide projections as to the possibility of limited or general war in the region.

Working Paper Series, 2022

The South China Sea and the ongoing dispute about territorial waters and exclusive economic zones over it is an issue that needs an inspection from both international relations and economic perspectives, making it a topic fit for commercial diplomacy. This paper aims to assess the investments to the region of China and its main competitor in the region, the USA. These investments can be military, economic, diplomatic, social, and other ways ranging from soft to hard power and to assess from cultural and historical perspectives to find out potential allegiances of the regional actors in this dispute. To determine these allegiances, we need to review first the reality of the situation; historical background, geographical basic information and similar information based on the facts of the region and conflict and some theories of international relations to understand how these facts interact with each other to form the dispute and maybe towards a future where all these conditions play out to a solution.

A collection of papers of the international conference "Security and Cooperation in the South China Sea" incorporates the presentations of its participants -the most prominent and authoritative world-class specialists from the United States, Japan, India, Australia, the European Union and Russia who have long been studying the problems of this region. They examine the situation in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea from various standpoints, analyse the history of the conflict, its juridical and political aspects, and the involvement of great powers therein. The common element that unites the texts offered to the reader is the authors' desire to find the most optimal ways to resolve the dangerous standoff, to make available for the governments of the countries of the region a sort of a "roadmap" to a world of stability and cooperation.