The importance of the South China Sea | ShareAmerica multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . 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 . 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. Hence, the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. 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. Generally, oil and minerals move north, and food and manufactured goods move south. During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. forces in the Philippines were focused primarily on aiding the Philippine military in its counterterror fight. 2009 China issues two diplomatic notes that appear to claim a majority of the South China Sea. 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. In October 2020, Hong Kong's air traffic control denied a Taiwanese flight access to Pratas Island, a Taiwan-occupied feature in the South China Sea. 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. Chinas claims over the legal status and maritime rights of the 9 dash line remain ambiguous and outside of UN recognised EEZ claims. Figure 3 highlights the influenced areas. Cooperation on areas of shared interest is important not only to the United States, but also to China. 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. 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 Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. Conservation values protection of marine habitat against wanton, unnecessary despoliation are also essential. An Analysis of the South China Sea Dispute: Focusing on the Assessment But if China continues to play its cards wrong and if the United States proves itself a dependable partner, American warships could one day regularly operate out of Cam Ranh Bay, the strategically located port-of-call, for the first time since the Vietnam War. In 1989 troops from the Peoples Liberation Army entered Tiananmen Square and terminated the student-led democracy demonstrations and hundreds died. President Musharraf requested China to invest in this important strategic chokepoint in the Indian Ocean., to which China agreed. 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. While consistency in U.S. messaging and policy execution is important, it should be balanced by carefully calculated unpredictability in operations and tactics to prevent Beijing from becoming overly confident in its ability to anticipate U.S. reactions. The U.S. Few in Washington were inclined to see the South China Sea as a strategic priority engaging vital U.S. national interests. In 1995, the Philippines discovered that China had occupied and militarized an atoll (Mischief Reef) well within the Philippines EEZ and within maritime territory claimed by Manila. South China Sea and possible options. In recent years, U.S. military planners have shifted their focus from counterterrorism, low intensity conflict to great power, high intensity threats. The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. Australia will be isolated with an uncertain future. She also observed that the sea-lanes through the South China Sea constituted a global commons not subject to sovereign claims by any nation. If China can exert complete control over the region, using predominantly the maritime domain, it can build a significant strategic sphere of influence and power. The isolationist China has never traditionally had a deep water navy, with a significant power projection capability; however the production of its first aircraft carrier (Liaoning) has been a noteworthy change from a soft power in the land environment to a hard power projection at sea stance. It is the geostrategic importance that is usually the main reason for the parties to strengthen their claim over the Spratlys and the Paracels. The Obama administration has made modest gains in this regard, but it will be up for to the next president to seize that opportunity and ensure that Southeast Asias future is prosperous, peaceful and free. Seventh Fleet patrolled the regions seaways, including the South China Sea, unchallenged including agreed access to ports throughout much of the region. Unfortunately, some countries fail to comply with the existing international law. Figure 4 shows the overlapping sovereignty claims in the SCS, with Chinas claims according to the 9 dash line doctrine in red. This segment will address American interests. In addition, the United States has affirmed some responsibility for the defense of Taiwan and has close security ties with Singapore and New Zealand. 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. The South China Sea is a core interest of both Vietnam and China. China has become increasingly assertive in the region, and regional powers from Japan to Singapore have become alarmed at China's behavior. in the northeast, the South China Sea is one of the most important trade routes in the world. All these aspects highlight the strategic indispensability of the South China Sea for global trade routes. Situation in the South China Sea - ASEAN Main Portal 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 South China Sea. 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. Finally, the United States should prioritize governance issues in its relations with Southeast Asian states. In practice, Thailand may be neutral in the regions great power fissures into the next decade. Narendra Modis Act East policy has resulted in an acceleration of burgeoning India-ASEAN ties and Indias position on the South China Sea territorial disputes essentially mirrors that of the United States. Thats why the United States has urged countries to resolve maritime claim disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law. Should those ties continue to expand, moreover, the United States may find that it has greater flexibility in dealing with a vexing regional ally: Thailand. 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. The United States can do more to leverage its alliances in Asia to raise the costs of Chinese efforts to undermine the regional order. 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. When it comes to trade, investment and infrastructure development, China should not be the only game in town. Now, the two militaries will increasingly exercise and train across a broad spectrum of military operations, from the low end to the high. Improved governance will lead to stronger economies over the long term and dampen the influence of Chinese dirty money. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. Unfortunately, the allies now lack a shared strategic outlook, thus reducing the impetus to overcome recent bilateral political hurdles. The Asia Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the worlds most populous and economically dynamic region. Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of . China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. f) . US and China is engaging in this sea to control all significance. and Amy Searight. This article examines Chinas behaviour in the South China Sea disputes through the lens of its strategy for managing its claims. 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. The United States should intensify capacity building efforts with allies and partners to improve their ability to resist Chinese coercion. 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. Thailand, of course, has been an important security partner for the United States. The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea - LinkedIn (PDF) The South China Sea issue in U.S. - Vietnam relations under The result has been to heighten tensions and allow Chinese forces to more easily project military power across the region. 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. China, for example, has asserted a maritime claim to a large majority of the South China Sea that is not consistent with international law. To this end, the new administration should perform an early, top-down, and thorough strategic review to enable greater consistency and effectiveness in U.S. South China Sea policy. 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. 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. The reaction of the Chinese Foreign Minister was incendiary and revealing. 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. 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 South China Sea | Geollect In April, Australian Defence Force personnel joined the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan maneuvers, which included an amphibious landing exercise. South China Sea: Why is it strategically important? - Clear IAS Seventh Fleet transits regularly between the Pacific and Indian Oceans (including the Bay of Bengal). South China Sea: What's China's plan for its 'Great Wall of Sand'? Importance of South China Sea The South China Sea is a busy international waterway, one of the main arteries of global trade worth more than $5 trillion and is growing year on year. China's plan for populating the South China Sea was launched in 2012 when "Sansha City", the administrative centre for all Chinese-claimed features in the South China Sea on Woody Island in the . 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.