1.0 Introduction
“A multinational effort to track down a missing Malaysian airliner on the edge of the South China Sea is turning into a rare example of maritime collaboration among countries embroiled in territorial disputes in the region.” (Chun et al., 2014) An expert on international security issues quoted in The Wall Street Journal (2014), “Nonetheless, it's also a good example of regional cooperation on a multinational rescue operation”, adding on that the example could be a good model for the future.
It took the world by surprise when Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 bound for Beijing went missing on 7th March 2014. Many were in shock, and the families of the 227 passengers and 12 crew were grieved stricken as there was still no news of the missing plane six days into the search and rescue (SAR). Nevertheless, Malaysia is blessed to have so many countries that joined in the SAR operations. The United States of America, Vietnam, Singapore, China, New Zealand, among others, deployed resources such as aircrafts, ships, satellites and helicopters to aid in the SAR to locate the missing plane.
The above case is depicted in this paper, because in essence, it showcases why foreign affairs and, maintaining bilateral and multilateral relationships are vital for any country. From a political perspective, such relationships are the main concern of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Malaysia, The Ministry has been mandated to pursue the nation’s foreign
They state that “transnational issues…are not always military problems, but military resources may prove useful to monitoring, controlling or recovering from them.” They later go on to say that the armed forces “may be required to coordinate their operations with humanitarian relief organisations” , as non-state actors influence their ‘warfighting.’
In the recent years, there is a conflict of territory between countries that caught the global attention. It’s about the ownership of several small islands in the South China Sea. Six primary countries are competing for its ownership. Each of them claimed the right to have these islands. The territory conflict supposed to engage only the competitors. However, at this time the whole world is
The issues on South China Sea disputes are inherently complex and are compounded by conflicting interpretations from the claimant states. In attempting to dissect this conundrum, Dutton (2011) propounds a framework to explain the three facets to the disputes – territorial sovereignty, jurisdiction over sea zones, and control over military activities. The argument on territorial sovereignty premises on the notion of complete state authority over part of, or all of the islands in the South China Sea, in particular the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Common to both, China is the only state that has made sovereignty claims over both clusters of islands. It is noted that since 1949, the Zhou Enlai government has published maps with nine dashes forming a U-shape line in the South China Sea demarcating its maritime boundaries (Nguyen, 2012). In late 2012, China even published maps with the U-shape line in its new passports (Anderlini & Bland, 2012). Separately, Dillon (2011) posits that Beijing’s territorial assertion in the South China Sea stems from the historical tributary system with its vassal kingdoms that span from Japan and Korea in the
Three levels of analysis, each with its own distinct strength, reveals three different ways of understanding international relations. The first states that all nation-states behave similarly, the second emphasizes the unique internal factors of a nation-state, while the third level of analysis focuses on the individual deciding a state’s course of action. Each level of analysis is useful in the study of international relations. Indeed, used all together, it is not long before arriving at a point where a vast number of explanations for the actions of a country are brought to light. However, to best understand international relations, one level of analysis is more useful than the rest, because it provides the most comprehensive
Two specific areas of concern are noted in the majority of studies conducted. The first area of concern was that there was not a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities or organizational leaders (Haddow et al., 2014, p. 322). Since this event this has been an area that has shown considerable improvement. This has been accomplished through the use of NIMS and collaborative efforts of first responder leaders to craft an all hazards model of response. By doing both of these things, partner agencies are better able to fold into the rescue
The purpose of this research paper is to review some important literature concerning the foreign policy
Flight 370 had been missing since March 2014 without a trace of indication. This event has left many families devastated and the world with questions. However,
China has used historical claims to justify its territorial usurpations in the South China Sea. China’s territorial claims are causing conflict in the region as Beijing seeks to control more area of the South China Sea, with one such example being the declaration of Chinese control out to the “Nine dashed line.” Additionally, it is only in the last one hundred or so years that China has
Subject: Countering the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) aggressive influence within the South China Seas (SCS)
The current situation in the East South China Sea is of great importance to the United States’ strategic and economic interests in the region. The destabilization of the region will have adverse effects around the world and could lead to a major military conflict between many nations. The nation of China has been expanding their territorial lines farther and farther into the South China Sea and it has led to Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippians expand theirs as well, these expanding territorial lines and large military presents of China and the United States have created a fear of conflict. These expansions are due to natural rich resources the waters have to offer and the greater strategic advantage that
Have you ever thought about studying international relations? What is international relations? International relations is an interdisciplinary course which encompasses a lot of subjects such as history, economics, politics and sociology. One may argue that it is an intricate course; however, one has to bear in mind that international relations is a gratifying course which has a lot of benefits for those students who study international relations but in this essay only two major ones will be introduced.
As of today, China has expanded and built over seven artificial islands in the South China Sea since 2014. The South China Sea has recently come to be a major problem in Asia as issues have risen over who has rights of passage and claims in this area. The Chinese of recent have been making territorial claims in the South China Sea that are in areas of free passage for many other Asian countries and the United States. In October 2015, a U.S. guided missile destroyer encountered one of the artificial islands and China’s response was that it would “take any measure” to maintain its security in “their territory”. The Chinese have been questioned in the Permanent Court of Arbitration by the Philippines after claiming rights to historical locations in the South China Sea, which violates sovereign rights of the Philippines, yet China responded to this outcome with refusal and has continued to advance itself in the territory causing huge disputes with its neighboring countries as freedom of navigation has been compromised through China’s actions.. In order to guarantee resolution and maintain the freedom of navigation aspect of international law there needs to be a foreign policy put in place that puts more United States military in the South China Sea with support from disputing countries like Japan and the Philippines as a way to make the issue multilateral and law abiding.
While working on the Syrian problem set earlier this year, I, like many DoD analysts, was alarmed by the relatively sudden appearance of Chinese military assets off the Syrian coastline in August of 2016. This marked a considerable departure from China’s long-held policy of non-intervention and its predilection for negotiated political solutions in the Middle East.
First, the South China Sea constitutes the eastern approach to the Strait of Malacca, one of the “world's four most important strategic maritime passages,” and therefore contains the vital SLOCs between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.3 Figure 1. provides a visual representation of the SLOCs running through the South China Sea. “About 25% of the global shipping fleet transits through the region each year, underlining the importance of the South China Sea as an extension of the Malacca chokepoint.”4 That 25% traveling these SLOCs includes over half of the world’s shipping for oil and gas every year.5 Considering the volume of traffic passing through the South China Sea, a disruption of traffic along these SLOCs caused by a claims dispute or even armed conflict will rapidly generate negative global effects. Short of military action, challenges such as natural disasters6 or piracy require an international unified action (or at least, de-conflicted action) from multiple if not all South China Sea claimant nations.
Since the 3rd Century AD, the South China Sea has been home to countless territorial disputes between China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other East Asian Nations. This region is so contentious because it is one of the busiest trade routes, and is home to vast natural resources. Because of the long and dense history of them, these disputes are some of the most difficult events to understand and interpret in international relations. Because the disputes deal with relative power, and the security dilemma, looking at the events through a realist lens is the most practical way of analyzing them.