In May, Australia and Singapore agreed to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In the defense realm, the CSP paves the way for more bilateral military exercises, greater Singaporean access to Australian training facilities, enhanced intelligence-sharing arrangements and expanded people-to-people exchanges. As building of military facilities continued in 2015, the US explicitly announced its opposition to these constructions and tasked surveillance assets to conduct over flights in the SCS and significantly raised tensions. This geo strategic significance is the main reason behind the fact that China and other territorial stakeholders are contesting to gain control of these maritime lane. Stay Connected! The Chinese recently built an island in the South China Sea, apparently as a potential airbase. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Vietnam's coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 kilometers long. The strategic importance of the South China Sea cannot be overstated. The new administration should issue clear and consistent strategic messages, since inconsistent articulation of the objectives of the rebalance strategy has caused confusion in China and amongst U.S. allies and partners. Unfortunately, some countries fail to comply with the existing international law. The same cannot be said for China and a maritime Southeast Asia that aligns with the United States. 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. China sought access to natural resources, to political influence and to a strategic maritime position in the Bay of Bengal. Figure 4 shows the overlapping sovereignty claims in the SCS, with Chinas claims according to the 9 dash line doctrine in red. . There were, however, cautionary signs for those prepared to see them. Despite all that, Beijing now faces a competition with Washington (and Delhi and Tokyo) for influence in Naypyidaw. 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 become increasingly assertive in the region, and regional powers from Japan to Singapore have become alarmed at China's behavior. . It remains entirely plausible that any Chinese strategy could have a long term goal of possessing the power to deny US or western warships access to the SCS, with China largely laying claim to most of the area as it's own waters. More importantly, it also covers the most crucial energy routes for East Asian countries to transport oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. If full democratization is her goal, there is no foreign partner more important than Washington for achieving it. 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. 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. President Musharraf requested China to invest in this important strategic chokepoint in the Indian Ocean., to which China agreed. 2016 The Arbitration Tribunal rules in favor of the Philippines. 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. - Interview with Ana Krstinovska, Russia's Growing Influence in the Middle East: an interview with Alexander Hoffmann, Serbia's Uneasy Balance Between Moscow and the EU: an interview with Suzana Grubjesic, Gulf States' Economic Momentum: an interview with Omar Al-Ubaydli, Prospects for Turkey-EU Relations Amid Tensions, Need to Cooperate and Lack of Trust: an interview with Nilgn Arsan Eralp, Germany's Shifting Stance in the Greek-Turkish Dispute: an interview with Ioannis P. 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The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea. However, there were a number of reasons to conclude that the line was no cartographic anomaly; it was an official indication of Beijings contention that the sovereign territory of China included the South China Sea. Dispersed American forces would act as countermeasure and would complicate defense planning for the Chinese military and political calculations for Beijing, while ensuring U.S. forces are positioned to support each other in the event of a crisis. What is the strategic importance of the South China Sea. More and more, we see a particularly aggressive maritime stance from China towards NATO warships when exercising freedom of navigation through the SCS. This order embodies certain foundational political principles respect for international law, preservation of the real sovereign independence of regional states, a refusal to legitimate unilateral territorial expansion, and the unconditional acceptance of the sea-lanes as a global commons. For example, targeted sanctions on Chinese companies involved in destabilizing activities could be considered. With a maturing coast guard, navy and air force, Vietnam will become an increasingly prickly foe. Countries across the region prioritized economic growth and modernization. Cooperation on areas of shared interest is important not only to the United States, but also to China. How that competition will evolve remains to be seen, but the very fact of the contest should be understood as a reversal of fortune for China. 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. It has increased its military budget by over 8.5% in recent years and this is likely to continue for the near future. Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs. Check out the linked article on the Belt and road initiative now. This puts more pressure on Washington to intervene and U.S. allies and partners in Asia are watching carefully and drawing conclusions about U.S. commitment and staying power in the region. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Hanoi and Canberra have launched a number of security dialogues and are expanding personnel exchanges, ship visits and officer training. Hanoi will move cautiously and such access may be limited to the purposes of logistical support for the time being. LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. More than half of the world's fishing vessels are in the South China Sea, and millions of people depend on these waters for their food and livelihoods. 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. 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. China is undertaking a persistent, long-term effort to establish control over the South China Sea. And thus a new strategic map of Asia begins to emerge. The China - Solomon Islands security agreement and the competition in the South China Sea. Pressing Challenges to U.S. Army Acquisition: A Conversation with Hon. 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. In addition, tensions have been raised with the Philippines after assertive Chinese naval patrols which they described as aggressive action. Therefore, the US plays a key role in influencing the resolution of the SCS disputes. The geopolitical message was unmistakable: Western expectations that China was transitioning toward political democracy were entirely illusory. 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. The end of the Cold War found East Asia and the Western Pacific strategically quiescent. Australia will be isolated with an uncertain future. Tokyo and Manila agreed to a strategic partnership in 2011. Center for Strategic and International Studies 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 . Finally, the United States should prioritize governance issues in its relations with Southeast Asian states. U.S. leaders should not be afraid of tension in the U.S.-China relationship. In the contemporary era, Taiwan remains geographically at the intersection of most of East Asia's danger points. Beyond that, there are a variety of formal security cooperation agreements with Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. When it comes to trade, investment and infrastructure development, China should not be the only game in town. 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). China, of course, has important strengths in Burma. It is a rich source of hydrocarbons and natural resources. 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.