Thailand has little reason to jettison the alliance, but in the near term the United States may need to accept more distant ties and a closer Thai-Chinese relationship. China has seized the initiative in the South China Sea, however, and the United States needs to revamp its strategy to reverse current trends and escape the trap of reactive and ineffectual policymaking. 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. Hanoi will move cautiously and such access may be limited to the purposes of logistical support for the time being. The "Implementing the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand" (SCS SAP Project) completed its Inception Phase with the 1st Steering Committee Meeting held online on the 29 and 30 of June, 2021 with official representatives from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam and the UNEP Task Manager for the project, with the support of . The South China Sea, or South East Asian Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean.It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands . The United States should intensify capacity building efforts with allies and partners to improve their ability to resist Chinese coercion. With a maturing coast guard, navy and air force, Vietnam will become an increasingly prickly foe. The growing size and capability of the Chinese air force, navy, and coast guard allow Beijing to consistently monitor and exercise de facto control over most of the South China Sea. The most important and least tangible stake in the South China Sea concerns the preservation (or not) of a regional rules-based order supported by U.S. power. Yet, it was and is all of that. through South China Sea Port is 1400 kms long. It has also been known to give its fishermen military training for years, but recently this has been reported as more assertive with fishermen helping to underwrite and enforce sovereignty claims by occupying territory at sea, carrying out surveillance and harassing other vessels under the guise of civilian fishing boats. China has harassed U.S. Navy ships operating in the South China Sea, warned military flights to stay away from its artificial islands, and recently seized a U.S. drone operating in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. The post-war regional order. The two countries elevated bilateral ties to an extensive strategic partnership in 2013 and Japan is in the midst of donating to Vietnam six patrol vessels (for use by the coast guard and fisheries ministry). 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. 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. 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. The security assurances provided by the U.S. military presence coupled with the advent of regional institutions, notably ASEAN and the Asian Development Bank, nurtured that growth. Networking Social Entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia: Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program, The High Price of Neglecting Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, Environmental Change and Security Program, North Korea International Documentation Project, Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, The Middle East and North Africa Workforce Development Initiative, Science and Technology Innovation Program, Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition. - Interview with Mei Gechlik, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan Spiking Tensions Between the U.S. and China: an interview with Andrew K.P. Unfortunately, the allies now lack a shared strategic outlook, thus reducing the impetus to overcome recent bilateral political hurdles. 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. It can receive large aircraft (including C-17s and C-130s); it is close to a deep seaport; and it has infrastructure capable of handling command and control systems. The United States, moreover, should work with its other Pacific alliesAustralia, South Korea and especially Japanto consider ways that they can lead efforts to expand infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia, perhaps by reforming and enlarging the Asian Development Bank or by launching a joint infrastructure investment fund. Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition: A Conversation with Hon. The South China Sea is one of the most important trade pathways in the world. 2009 China issues two diplomatic notes that appear to claim a majority of the South China Sea. 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. More and more, we see a particularly aggressive maritime stance from China towards NATO warships when exercising freedom of navigation through the SCS. In the contemporary era, Taiwan remains geographically at the intersection of most of East Asia's danger points. Post-Mao China, with the emergence of Deng Xiaoping as paramount leader, became a major constructive presence dedicated to economic development fueled by opening the Middle Kingdom to the region and the world. African community leaders take home lessons from U.S. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. The most likely single scenario for a major military engagement against a great power adversary would be one against China centered on the South China Sea. These islands are large enough for military runways and well as SAM installations. The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. The area is globally important for a few reasons. A critical and early Chinese test of U.S. resolve is likely to come in the South China Sea, where Washington has struggled to respond effectively to assertive Chinese behavior. 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. 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. Guidelines for a South China Sea Strategy. It is clear that increased maritime power projection in the SCS, from the Chinese in particular, has upset regional stability, and this is likely to continue. The diplomatic tempest at the ARF came when U.S. security attention was preoccupied with ongoing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the global counterterrorism campaign with Osama bin Laden still at large. "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. Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. Miguel . In addition, the United States has affirmed some responsibility for the defense of Taiwan and has close security ties with Singapore and New Zealand. The Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. In 2010, the US declared its freedom of navigation in the SCS to be a national interest in response to Chinas increasingly assertive posture. The strategic importance of the SCS is mainly due to its geographical location, as the area is one of the worlds busiest and most strategic shipping lanes. MANILA - Major powers are wading deeper into the South China Sea in a series of moves that promise to rile China while answering US calls for like-minded nations to counter jointly Beijing's rising assertiveness in the crucial and contested maritime area. Since 2009, China has growingly asserted its influence over the SCS by enforcing an annual fishing ban, conducting regular maritime patrols, undertaking scientific surveys and conducting military exercises in the disputed islands and waters. the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States." Chinese control of the SCS-and, more generally, Chinese domination of China's near-seas region, meaning the SCS, the East China Sea (ECS), and the Yellow Sea-could substantially aect U.S. strategic, political, and economic interests in the Indo-Pacic region and . Today's world is the US-led where China is a rising giant economically and politically. Beijing may not find it quite as easy to run roughshod over Hanoi in the coming years. Australia and Vietnam established a Comprehensive Partnership in 2009 and agreed to expand it in 2015. Thailand, of course, has been an important security partner for the United States. The United States has several enduring advantages that make regional states continue to seek it out as the security partner of choice, including the worlds best military, high favorability ratings in most local populations, and a less threatening foreign policy than that of 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. 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 is one in which China dominates the South China Sea from the north; the United States and its partners dominate the eastern and western edges of the sea; and the bulk of continental Southeast Asian states (Thailand, Cambodia and Laos) are either neutral or aligned more closely with China. Any such assertion must rest on an understanding that critical U.S. national interests, including both economic and security interests, are at stake and at risk. 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 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. Generally, oil and minerals move north, and food and manufactured goods move south. U.S. military advantage is of limited utility in this area and Washington has struggled to convince local partners to join in freedom of navigation operations. When Beijing froze banana imports from the Philippines in the midst of the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012, it sent a clear message to its Southeast Asian neighbors: economic ties would not be immune from diplomatic contretemps. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. 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. In sum, the South China Sea is the immediate arena where two alternative geopolitical paradigms are contesting for supremacy. Southeast Asia will inevitably be rendered subordinate and compliant to Chinas will. Hanoi and Canberra have launched a number of security dialogues and are expanding personnel exchanges, ship visits and officer training. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons. First, the United States should feel more confident to pressure the junta on human rights concerns. During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. forces in the Philippines were focused primarily on aiding the Philippine military in its counterterror fight. Instead, perceptions of weakness may encourage leaders in Beijing to embrace more assertive behavior. The U.S. militarys enhanced ability to loiter in and over the South China Sea, moreover, will facilitate more effective efforts to track Chinese submarines sailing from the PLANs underground naval base on Hainan island. Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). This access will allow for more frequent, more sustained flights over the South China Sea, including over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. To counter China's efforts to control the South China Sea, the United States needs a sustainable strategy to bolster its own capabilities, work more effectively with capable allies and partners, and strengthen the regional order. The risk to Chinese power projection lies predominantly with US interests. 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 . 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. This is the first of three short essays examining the South China Sea as a first order strategic problem for the United States. South China Sea and possible options. Ironically, the United States is drawing closer to communist Vietnam, in which human rights are serially abused, while growing apart from a major Vietnam War ally, largely due to concerns over democratic backsliding. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. A new arrangement for U.S. naval access to Cam Ranh Bay may well be in the offing. Center for Strategic and International Studies China, of course, has important strengths in Burma. The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. 1994 The Convention on the Law of the Sea goes into effect. 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. 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. The neighboring South East Asian countries of the highly volatile and busiest waterways of the South China Sea (SCS) have overlapping claims of sovereignty. 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. A third of the world's shipping passes through it, its fisheries are critical sources of food for millions of people. 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. To facilitate capacity building, Washington should preserve regional defense relationships while recognizing that the ability of the United States to partner with frontline states depends on their cooperation and adherence to good governance and human rights. In a context of great power competition, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. The United States has formally objected to Chinas South China Sea maritime claims. Current developments in the South China Sea must be understood against the backdrop of recent history. 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. By the end of the 1970s, communist insurgencies outside Indochina had been effectively suppressed. 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. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and. 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. Because of its location, this sea is extremely strategic because it connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Malacca). The Art of War helps expose the motivation behind past, current, and future Chinese actions. Not taking a position on sovereignty allows the United States to flexibly intervene in the South China Sea to defend its interests and international rules and norms, while undercutting Chinese attempts to paint U.S. actions as a threat to Beijings sovereignty. And thus a new strategic map of Asia begins to emerge. China is already providing indications of how it might act when it controls the South China Sea. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. She also observed that the sea-lanes through the South China Sea constituted a global commons not subject to sovereign claims by any nation. 1) Islands are much more strategically valuable. Security, Strategy, and Military Dynamics in South China Sea: Cross-National Perspectives on JSTOR. 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. It will always have an eye on the need to protect itself against attack from the sea, but there's much more to China's vulnerability than potential invasion or bombardment. U.S. access to the South China Sea is coming under increasing threat as Chinese power increases, but can be preserved if the United States maintains a sufficient military advantage over China. The Obama administrations decision to lift the decades-old arms embargo on Vietnam is instrumental here. . The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea. The sea is rich in resources and holds significant strategic and political importance. The U.S. military used Utapao for refueling efforts during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s, as well as for multinational relief efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and April 2015 Nepal earthquake., The U.S.-Thai alliance has also served as a platform for important training exercises. With a new Southeast Asian strategic alignment taking shape as described, geography makes Indonesia and Malaysiaespecially due to its Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneothe regions key swing states. Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of . 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. The three core areas that must be defended and secured are the Malay Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. See Media Page for more interview, contact, and citation details. The main route to and from Pacific and Indian ocean ports is through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea. Journals and books. Total fish stocks have been depleted by 70 to 95 percent since the 1950s. The China - Solomon Islands security agreement and the competition in the South China Sea. Back in 2006, Japan became only the second country (after Russia) to establish a strategic partnership with Vietnam. 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. President Musharraf requested China to invest in this important strategic chokepoint in the Indian Ocean., to which China agreed. The power politics, military interests created the South China Sea more important. Allied efforts to support U.S. force posture in the region will remain vital, but the United States should also expect allies to make greater contributions in responding to Chinese coercion. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. China, too, considers control of these waters to be of high strategic importance. With the incoming administration likely to grapple early with South China Sea issues, the CSIS Southeast Asia Program, directed by Dr. Amy Searight, worked in collaboration with other Asia colleagues at CSISDr. U.S. leaders should not be afraid of tension in the U.S.-China relationship. That should, of course, remain the goal, but Washington must recognize that Thailand is in the midst of a decade-long political crisis, which is unlikely to be resolved until after King Bhumibols passing and the royal succession is completed. More than 50% of world trade passes through the Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait over the islands and waters of the SCS amounting to around $5 trillion. Not only Vietnam is the strongest opponent of the Chinese nine-dash line claim in the region, Vietnam's sustained economic growth has pushed it to emerge as an important player in the South East Asia, which China perceives is not in its interests. With the National League for Democracy now in power in Naypyidaw, China cannot rely on Burma as an automatic ally. 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. 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. Few in Washington were inclined to see the South China Sea as a strategic priority engaging vital U.S. national interests. 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. 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 South China Sea is one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. The United States also faces a challenge in enforcing international law in the South China Sea. The strategic value of the alliance remains high, according to theCongressional Research Service: *** U.S.