India and Vietnam, while acknowledging the strategic importance of the SCS and their volatile position when it comes to China's rising power, are edging closer toward each other. The United States should intensify capacity building efforts with allies and partners to improve their ability to resist Chinese coercion. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. the South China Sea that would be " - S " ["permitting a leaf to obscure one's view of the mountain"]. 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. 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Over the longer term, American defense contractors may have their sights set on sales of fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. Few in Washington were inclined to see the South China Sea as a strategic priority engaging vital U.S. national interests. Those bases may be vulnerable, but before and at the outbreak of hostilities, they will allow China to project power deep into maritime Southeast Asia, to threaten commercial and military passage through the sea, and to impose and enforce an air defense identification zone. These straws-in-the-wind gained strategic context because the PRC had long published official maps showing a boundary encompassing almost the entire South China Sea the nine-dash line.. All Rights Reserved. The strategic landscape of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s was remarkably benign with optimism in full flower. Chinas rising military power and political influence is generating anxiety and suspicion among some of its neighbours and western powers. 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. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. All these aspects highlight the strategic indispensability of the South China Sea for global trade routes. Washingtons relationship with Hanoi will make that more palatable. "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 . To counter Chinas 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. In a context of great power competition, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. Inconsistent messaging and policiesincluding on freedom of navigation and routine presence operationshave also led to confusion in the region. or join us on Facebook. There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. NEW DELHI (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan urged China and the US to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South . Total fish stocks have been depleted by 70 to 95 percent since the 1950s. The conflict and tension over competing sovereignty claims in the South China Sea has grown considerably in the past 5-10 years. 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. Miguel . 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. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. 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. But as it does so, it acts as midwife to a very real strategic realignment in Southeast Asia, one which promises to benefit the United States and its partners. The United States can, if necessary, accept a continental Southeast Asia that leans China without major concern for Americas primary interests. Any temptation to alter U.S. policies in the South China Sea to preserve cooperation with China in other areas is unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. But addressing the risks of its near seas means tackling the time-consuming and costly project of building, training and deploying a stronger blue-water navy while also establishing a greater . The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. The primary challenge to American regional predominance came from Maoist China first through the Korean War and then via communist insurgencies throughout Southeast Asia culminating in the Vietnam War (1963-75). America has formal defense/security alliances with five Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia. Marcos Jr. had previously said his country would pursue oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea even without a deal with China, which claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South . U.S. goals to uphold regional alliances and partnerships, defend international rules and norms, and maintain a productive relationship with China remain valid. f) . 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. In order to understand the contention of the South China Sea and its significance, it is firstly imperative to understand the geopolitical importance of Asia, which has given rise to Chinese pre-eminence; enabling its rise to contemporary major political power on the global stage. 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. 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Most of China's contested land borders were remote areas with few people, natural resources or clear military utility. The increasing activity of Beijing in the South China Sea, Consequences of US-China rivalry in Indo-Pacific and beyond, Balancing the giants: Australia between China and US. In the contemporary era, Taiwan remains geographically at the intersection of most of East Asia's danger points. This button displays the currently selected search type. President Musharraf requested China to invest in this important strategic chokepoint in the Indian Ocean., to which China agreed. China, of course, has important strengths in Burma. In addition, this thesis intends to propose a solution to the dispute by pulling from a variety of sources. The United States will continue to stand with our allies and partners to uphold the order that we helped build, Pencesaid. 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. This new strategic map of Southeast Asia actually began to take shape during the Bush administration, whichinitially launchedthe effort to move beyond Americas traditional hub-and-spokes alliance model in the Asia-Pacific. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has undertaken more assertive policies that have greatly improved Beijings position in the South China Sea. Coral reefs, which are vital to marine habitats, have been declining by 16 percent per decade, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 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. To understand the statement we have to have a particular knowledge over the issue and have to look over the geopolitical and strategic importance of South China Sea. South China Sea has geo-strategic, geo-politic and geo-economic importance due to half of the world trade passage and presence of precious resources of oil and gas. 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 . In sum, the South China Sea is the immediate arena where two alternative geopolitical paradigms are contesting for supremacy. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the South China Sea dispute and to analyze why the dispute has yet to escalate, as well as the strategic importance of the South China Sea dispute to international trade. 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. Preserving the U.S. military edge is key to maintaining the U.S. position in Asia. In short, adopting a more robust deterrence approach need not prevent cooperation that is in the interests of both countries. Ownership claims to them are used to bolster claims to the surrounding sea and its resources. Many of these countries suffer from corruption and lack for effective rule of law. If Chinese coercion goes unchallenged by the United States, it will send a dangerous signal about the strength of the U.S. alliance system and lessen the appeal of the United States as a security partner. Burma, however, is a potential bright spot for the U.S. position in continental Southeast Asia. It is the geostrategic importance that is usually the main reason for the parties to strengthen their claim over the Spratlys and the Paracels. South China Sea is a strategic sea lane is significance for connectivity, navigation, trade and resources is a global hotspot as a potential flashpoint. 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. Improved governance will lead to stronger economies over the long term and dampen the influence of Chinese dirty money. 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.