Tightrope Walking over the Sea of Trouble

Author(s):  
Tran Truong Thuy

This chapter examines the main issues for Vietnam since the launch of its Doi Moi (“renovation”) policy in the mid-1980s and its foreign policy in the past, present, and near future. The chapter also analyzes the country’s relationship with its two most important partners—China and the United States—with the main focus on the interactions among key players in the South China Sea.

Author(s):  
Sergey Vladimirovich Novoseltsev ◽  
Igor' Valer'evich Ryzhov

This article analyzes the influence of the United States upon the political processes in APAC based on the example of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. An overview is given to the foreign policy concepts “Pivot to Asia” and “America First” proposed by the administrations of B. Obama and D. Trump respectively, the priorities outlined therein, as well as importance of the  conflict in the South China Sea for the US foreign policy. The author examines the practical steps taken by Washington in relation to the South China Sea question, as well as concludes on the objectives of the United States and possible steps in this direction. Although the theme of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, including the degree of  involvement of Washington into this issue, as well as other East Asian affairs, is quite popular in the scientific works,  the novelty of this research consists in the innovative approach towards consideration of the conflict in the South China Sea not as a separate problem of international relations, but as the foreign policy instrument of superpower and regional powers (including the United States) used for formatting the East Asian regional subsystem of international relations and structuring the Greater East Asia macroregion to their benefit.


Significance However, China's navy already has an operational sea-based nuclear deterrent based on Hainan Island. The deployment of nuclear-armed submarines, and their need to reach the mid-Pacific to threaten the continental United States, makes the South China Sea an arena not just of maritime disputes but of US-China military rivalry. Impacts The strategic importance of the Philippines, Taiwan and Singapore to the United States will increase. A new defence agreement with the Philippines will, as of last month, support US military activities in the area. Washington will encourage greater Japanese involvement in the South China Sea; as long as Shinzo Abe is prime minister, Japan will oblige.


2016 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Chwee KUIK

If “militarisation” is defined as an act of deploying military assets to pursue wider strategic ends, then all players of the South China Sea disputes have engaged in some forms of militarisation. China’s militarisation reflect three layers of target audiences: the United States (the main target), regional countries (the secondary target) and its domestic audience. Beijing’s growing anxieties over US rebalancing and the arbitration ruling have paradoxically pushed it to accelerate its “militarisation” activities.


Author(s):  
D.V. Mosyakov ◽  

The author analyzes the situation in the South China Sea at the height of the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and concludes that the pandemic only exacerbates long-standing conflicts. The author also examines the position of China, the United States and the ASEAN countries in relation to disputes in the South China Sea, highlighting Vietnam, which has long been a "bone of contention" between Beijing and Washington.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fikry Anshori

<p>Abstrak<br />Latar belakang artikel ini adalah ekspansi China di Laut China Selatan serta pengaktifan kembali Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD). QSD adalah pertemuan non-formal yang beranggotakan United States, Australia, India, dan Japan. Artikel ini berusaha untuk menjawab ‘Apa keunggulan yang dimiliki oleh QSD pasca pengaktifan kembali mereka untuk menghadapi kehadiran China di Laut China Selatan?’. Teori utama yang digunakan dalam artikel ini adalah Balance of Threat dari Stephen Walt. Hasil dari artikel ini memperlihatkan keunggulan yang dimiliki oleh QSD adalah lokasi geografis, sebagian besar sumber daya dan persenjataan, serta program latihan perang bersama dan modernisasi persenjataan. Keunggulan tersebut dapat digunakan QSD untuk menghadapi niat mengancam dari China dengan kehadiran mereka di Laut China Selatan.</p><p>Abstract<br />The background of this article is the expansion of China in the South China Sea and the reactivation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD). QSD is an informal meeting with members from the United States, Australia, India, and Japan. This article seeks to answer 'What advantages does QSD have after their reactivation to face China's presence in the South China Sea?'. The main theory used in this article is the Balance of Threat from Stephen Walt. The results of this article show the advantages possessed by QSD is the geographical location, the majority of resources and weapons, as well as joint war training and weapon modernization programs. These advantages can be used by QSD to face the threatening intentions of China with its presence in the South China Sea.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Jingdong YUAN

China remains an indispensable player in the peninsular denuclearisation process. Beijing seeks to foster peace and stability in the region, maintain a balanced two-Korea policy, and manage the North Korean nuclear challenge in the broader contexts of growing strategic rivalry with the United States, including disputes over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Recent developments in China-DPRK relations indicate that Beijing continues to view North Korea as a strategic asset.


Author(s):  
Rasha Suhail Mohamed Zaydan

International balances, especially the geostrategic balances the United States and China, are among the most important regional and international balances of the new international order, specifically the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to the importance of the strategic environment over which the two countries compete, if the South China Sea occupies a geostrategic position as a result of the political, economic and military security capabilities that it enjoys, then China regards it as a part of its territory and is subject to its regional sovereignty. The Asia_ Pacific region, and preventing the United States from competing with it and controlling it as a vital economic, commercial and military field, is security for it.                    


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