Suddenly, China's sweeping "nine-dash line" would become even more real and more easily enforceable by Beijing." The United States should therefore develop and promulgate a National Strategy for the South China Sea. The Importance of the South China Sea. China is working hard to bring under its control the water, islands, rocks and reefs that sit within its imaginary nine-dash line. A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines. Obviously that body of water and its land features are not coterminous with Southeast Asia, nor with East Asia, Asia, Eurasia, or the Asia-Pacific, let . China is carrying out incursions, sinking foreign ships, establishing new districts, giving Chinese names to islands, building new artificial islands and using fishing vessels as maritime militias in the South China Sea. Although of less strategic importance to the PRC than the South China Sea, the East China Sea is a flashpoint of huge magnitude and involves a dispute with Japan of hundreds of years (Dixon 1054). Its actual behavior says what it wants. The region also is the subject of more than a dozen overlapping and interconnected disputes over who is in charge of the various islands, rocks, shoals and reefs scattered throughout the South China Sea waters. At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. The Spratlys links the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. In the Spratlys, China has built airfields at Subi, Mischief and Fiery . Philippine . For too long, the standard narrative on tensions in the South China Sea has centered on regional states viewing China with disdain which fits into . The South China Sea is located in the Western Pacific Ocean and it covers approximately 3,700,000 sq km. The importance of the ECS China lies in its proximity . As the incoming Biden administration formulates its South China Sea strategy, one regional partner that looms large is Vietnam. At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. Historically, the Pratas Islands have attracted little attention, but as the importance of the South China Sea has increased, so too has the strategic relevance of the Pratas Islands. by Irfan Ali 30 September 2020 The South China Sea (SCS) has great strategic and economic significance in the contemporary international politico-security environment. Most all of it will pass through the strategic . It is a dispute over territory and sovereignty over ocean areas, and the Paracels and the Spratlys - two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of . What is the argument about? The militarization of the Spratly Islands is a significant example in this regard. China's actions in the SCS—including extensive island-building and base- . economic importance associated with the ocean is tremendous and manifold. South China Sea is one of the world largest and semi enclosed sea. However, Brunei's insistence that specific issues in the maritime region should be . The strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated. The Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and the sea straits of South East Asia. The South China Sea covers an area of some 4 million square kilometres. 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 in relation to international trade. The South China Sea is a strategic body of water bordering Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and China. Five countries have claimed . While Chinese naval capabilities are in the development phase the navy requires protective sanctuaries against Regarding the South China Sea, Amb. 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 is a prominent part of the Chinese concept of zonal defence, one that has assumed a special significance within it as China's naval power has expanded. 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 strategic importance of the SCS is mainly due to its geographical location, as the area is one of the world's busiest and most strategic shipping lanes. Brunei's statement seems to present a unified front with the Philippines and Vietnam, in preparation for its ASEAN chairmanship in 2021, where ASEAN and China hope to finalise the formulation of the code of conduct to reduce tensions in the South China Sea. mid-1990s, China has pursued a strategy of delaying the resolution of the dispute. Geostrategy, a subfield of geopolitics, is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. an area of strategic, political, and economic importance to the United States and its allies and partners. A magnifying glass. The neighboring South East Asian countries of the highly volatile and busiest waterways of the South China Sea (SCS) have overlapping claims of sovereignty. Their presence was an ominous reminder of China's intention to claim large swaths of the South China Sea, enclosed by the so-called "nine-dash line," as its sovereign territory. STRATEGIC FEATURES OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA T he South China Sea is a semienclosed sea at the intersection between East Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Both the similarities and the differences commend sea-power theorist Alfred The South China Sea is also where the parameters of the Sino-American "New Cold War" is most pronounced and, accordingly, profoundly troubling. It may not be in a "choke" situation as Vietnam in the matter, because Malaysia has access to the Indian Ocean via its control of the Strait of Malacca. Map of the South China Sea. 5. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the When, in 2016, a tribunal in The Hague ruled that China's claims in the South China Sea were without merit, the new president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, made it clear he would ignore . Actions by China's maritime forces at . At the economic front, it is estimated that . "Controlling Taiwan would facilitate China's operations in the South China Sea and enable it to assert its territorial and maritime claims even more aggressively against the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . The following is the Dec. 12, 2021, Congressional Research Service report U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Background and Issues for Congress. 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. Over the last few years, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high, impacting fishing and natural resource exploration in disputed waters. August 15, 2020. . Generally, oil and minerals move north, and food and manufactured goods move south. It wants to control the South China Sea. In the days of sailing ships, a ship could sail from either an Indian or Chinese port with one monsoon and return the next. Its surface area covers this region receives a tremendous inflow of freshwater and terrestrial sediments mainly from mainland China. In addition to fishing grounds, the South China Sea contains an abundance of energy resources, . South China Sea has vital significance in the region as well as indo-pacific geopolitics. The average depth of sea is 4,000 feet with its continental shelf. "China's militarization and territorial expansion in the South China Sea is illegal and dangerous," Vice President Pence said at the East Asia Summit last year. These estimates represent a sizeable proportion of international trade, constituting between 21 percent of global trade in 2016, but is nonetheless 36 percent smaller than the original $5.3 trillion. The main route to and from Pacific and Indian ocean ports is through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the 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. Let us get to know about the strategic importance of the South China Sea and Beijing's never-ending nefarious activities in . "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. The South China Sea's northern sibling: the East China Sea, home to the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, is a case in point. But as it does so, it acts as midwife . The largest and most powerful of these . Preserving the U.S. military edge is key to maintaining the U.S. position in Asia. South China Sea issue has been under spotlight. Johnson South Reef, November 15, 2014. 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. The contours of the talks, the areas discussed the stance of neutrality undertaken and future courses of action charted underline why strategic wisdom instead of petty geopolitics in the South China Sea is critical for regional stability. The South China Sea is a vast area measuring 3.6 million square kilometres, more than double the size of the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly a third of total demand went to the Asian-Pacific and Americas regions, according to Statista. The goal of this strategy is to consolidate China's claims, especially to maritime rights or jurisdiction over. It is the link between the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Imports to sate Asia's growing energy needs will largely pass through the strategic Strait of. The South China Sea is an arm of western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia. The notion that the government of China does not know what it wants in the South China Sea is no longer tenable. Strategic value of the. The South China Sea is one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. Another importance of South China Sea is that it is the one-third trade passage of global maritime passage. The upshot of this strategic exuberance is the eventual establishment of the much . By Irfan Ali*. The United States has formally objected to China's South China Sea maritime claims. The South China Sea contains some of the world's most important shipping lanes. Strategic Importance: This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . The South China Sea is important for Malaysia from economic, social, strategic and security aspects. This militarization by China began in 2014 and continues till date. Besides, more than half of the world's fishing vessels pass through the SCS. Since 2013, China has demonstrated increasingly-assertive behaviour in the South China Sea as a means to protect its sovereignty and safeguard the attendant maritime rights and interests, 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. Vietnam occupies twenty-one islands on which it has built runways, piers, barracks, storage tanks, and gun . Because it is such a large body of water, the South China Sea is bounded by several countries, including China and . 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. Regional solutions for Regional problems: The South China Sea is an area of growing concern over conflicting territorial claims, piracy, poaching, resource depletion, pollution, drug trafficking, illegal . It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo. Over the past several years, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. China has established numerous military installations in the South China Sea, primarily in the Spratly and Paracel Islands. Actions by China's maritime forces at . This thesis will also study possible solutions and effects on both the region and the international community. Such nuances require regional states such as the Philippines to exercise strategic wisdom by shelving misgivings and bridging trust deficits which are allowed to fester in provocative environments. ChinaPower found that an estimated $3.4 trillion in trade passed through the South China Sea in 2016. From busiest . China Power Project - South China Sea Trade . STRATEGIC FEATURES OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA T he South China Sea is a semienclosed sea at the intersection between East Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Malacca strait is the cheep sea passage of Persian Gulf. natural gas imports which transit the sea lanes of the South China Sea that is more important than the resources beneath. is challenging an increasingly anxious status quo power (US) in one of the world's most important . The Philippines has begun using Subic Bay facing the South China Sea as a naval base, the country's navy said this week in a move aimed at countering China's increasing assertiveness in the . If there are issues, they must be discussed bilaterally without any consideration for camp politics. There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. It is a strategic maritime link between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and therefore of paramount importance to major naval powers. It takes a modern warship just over three days to sail at top speed of . Islands in the South China Sea The islands of the South China Sea can be grouped into two island chains. Even the fastest warships travel comparatively slowly, 35 knots . He noted that the talks that China and the ten members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been conducting for several years to craft an agreed Code of Conduct (COC) for the SCS have shown some progress, particularly with the production of a "Single Draft Negotiating Text," which was attained back in September 2018. I argue here that while the ASEAN countries have continued to . an area of strategic, political, and economic importance to the United States and its allies and partners. The mysterious tunnels where China hides its strategic assets from the watchful eyes of potential adversaries offer several important advantages. It stretches around 3.5 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) (Jennings, 2017). Thus it became important for US, China, Japan, Korean 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. It is a rich source of hydrocarbons and natural resources. We have taken a look at the South China Sea, its economic importance, and the territorial disputes involving the region. It has vital trade arteries, with $5 trillion or about one third of the world's commerce passing through its waters, fisheries that account for 12 per cent of the global catch, and estimated reserves of eleven billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. In fact, China is so fascinated by the strategic significance of the South China Sea that it has began militarizing a number of islands within the Sea. Then there is speed to consider. by Derek Grossman. 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 seasonal changes of the monsoons meet at the southern entrance of the Straits of Malacca. This paper analyzes the South China Sea conflict through a prism of strategic culture theory and examines both the Chinese narrative on the conflict as well as the actual Chinese behavior in the area. . . By controlling a large proportion of the South China Sea, China will be able to achieve the following: Economic: It is estimated that the South China Sea may contain one-hundred and five billion barrels of The shift in America's strategic focus from fighting terrorism in the Middle East -and its "long wars" in Afghanistan as well as Iraq and Syria - to competition with China has led to a growing level of confrontation and possible wars in Taiwan and the South China Sea. The sea, unlike land, creates clearly defined borders, giving it the potential to reduce conflict. The South China Sea may be an important source of oil and natural gas. According to a 1995 study by Russia's Research Institute of Geology of Foreign Countries, the equivalent of 6 billion barrels of oil might be located in the Spratly Islands area, of which 70 percent would be natural gas. In the modern era, the sea more than the land determined Vietnam's strategy — namely maintaining a unified, sovereign nation. 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 … Some areas in the central South China Sea are not well sounded . Specifically, the U.S. should: Take an official position regarding disputed SCS land features . January 4, 2021. By controlling a large proportion of the South China Sea, China will be able to achieve the following: Economic: It is estimated that the South China Sea may contain one-hundred and five billion barrels of All its islands are coral, low and small, about 5 to 6 meters above water, spread over 160,000 to 180,000 square kilometers of sea zone . The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. 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 sea has been a bone of contention for quite some time among not only its littoral . . More than 50% of world trade passes. The ECS is connected with the SCS the Yellow Sea the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean (Niu, 2016). Both the similarities and the differences commend sea-power theorist Alfred South China Sea is only a small part on the map, but it plays a vital role in the stability of the Pacific-Asian region. China's strategic ends in the South China Sea can be divided into two categories, economic and military. It exhibits characteristics similar to the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea, as well as some revealing differences. The South China Sea as a Sanctuary . So, when an all -sea route But socio-culturally and strategically the South China Sea matters to Malaysia. 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's strategic ends in the South China Sea can be divided into two categories, economic and military. It indicates, "Click to perform a search". In a Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, India and the USA talked about ensuring freedom of navigation and resolving disputes according to UNCLOS referring to the South China Sea but after Philippines won the arbitration award in its favour in 2016, India has clearly separated itself from the dispute. "It threatens the sovereignty of many nations and endangers the prosperity of the world." by Irfan Ali 30 September 2020 The South China Sea (SCS) has great strategic and economic significance in the contemporary international politico-security environment. A third of the world's shipping passes through it, its fisheries are critical sources of food for millions of people in . 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. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative/CSIS. After the end of France's occupation of North Vietnam in 1945, the border with China — early Vietnam's first strategic concern — gradually ceased to be a pressing issue. Over the past several years, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. It exhibits characteristics similar to the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea, as well as some revealing differences. output of salt is estimated 604,000 ton. The South China Sea is a semi-closed sea located in the Pacific Ocean adjacent to East Asia. The ECS is one of the largest marginal seas in the world. China's actions in the SCS—including extensive island-building and base- . At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. The South China Sea (SCS) has great strategic and economic significance in the contemporary international politico-security environment. The strategic landscape of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s was remarkably benign with optimism in full flower. As with all strategies, geostrategy is concerned with matching means to ends —in this case, a country's resources (whether they are limited or extensive) with its geopolitical objectives (which can be local . The South China Sea (SCS) has great strategic and economic significance in the contemporary international politico-security environment. In . .