The Chinese Expansion And Territorial Claims Within The South China Sea

China was the most powerful maritime force for almost three decades during the 14th century. The world recognized the Chinese for their fine artisan skills, which included creating stunning porcelains and silks. They also had great marine navigation skills, vast knowledge in astronomy and advanced firepower technology. Before the Ming Dynasty, the Yi citizens of China involuntarily stopped working on the land, hence had to seek for alternatives in the sea for survival. A century before Columbus plus his allied Europeans started their entry into the Modern World, seven voyages of massive castoffs commanded by the eunuch Zheng He ventured through the China Seas to East Africa, throughout Korea and Japan. This occurred between 1405 and 1433, during the reign of Zhu Di. Using their skills, they conquered the forces around the Indian Ocean, making China the naval ruler. In the book When China Ruled the Seas, Louise Levathes explores the historic timeline of China’s dynamic transformation until her rise and dominance as a marine power. Discussed below is China’s overall

In Asia, North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons, and the oppressive regime is threatening to the security in the continent, and especially to our allies in South Korea. Currently there are “more than a million service members on either side of the demilitarized zone on the Korean Peninsula” [25]. Therefore “vigilance and readiness” are a top priority in the region. China’s recent actions in their modernization and buildup of the county’s military show China’s assertion of their growing economic power. China,

The United States, throughout the course of its history, has attempted to steady the dynamic global climate in eras of strategic change. Examples of this abound: post-World War I, the post-Vietnam Cold War, and even the current post-long war environment. However, it is arguable that no era of strategic change was more critical to the development of contemporary international security than the interwar period between World War II’s end and the rapid communist advance across the 38th parallel that initiated the Korean War. Yet similarities exist with our current age, and one would be remiss to discount the invaluable experiences garnered during such a transformative period in global history. Comparatively, and based on current concepts and amphibious

When it comes to the political profile, seven different countries have competing maritime claims (mostly over the Spratly and Paracel Islands), some of which become even more complicated as some overlap with other nations’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Despite the “intraregional distrust, deeply rooted historical issues, and rapidly increasing military spending” in the region surrounding the South China Sea, one expert argues that “not only has the conflict not escalated into a serious military conflict; it has, in fact, been mitigated… in fact, a more stable peace has developed.” (Costlow, 2012, p.6).

The first contention is that the US presence in Okinawa is unnecessary. The United States only has the base in the region so that they are able to defend from a possible Chinese or North Korean advancement. Concerns about China’s influence are centered in the South and East Asian Sea. To reduce the burden on Okinawa, the United

(Marshall np.) Multiple countries are in contest over the Sea such as, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. With so many countries stating their claims, China has come out with statements referring to the creation of a “nine-dash line” back in the late 1940’s. They have stated this line as a historical claim that gives China the right over the sea as well as the islands and resources within its area. (Marshall np.) Their actions are said to be bypassing international laws. After citing historical claims, they further stated that, “‘The Chinese government passed legislation in 1992 laying claim to four-fifths of the sea’” (Marshall np.) With concern of this growing Chinese presence in such a strategic region, the countries who have claims in this region alongside the U.S. have amped up military presence in the body of water. Obama’s first course of action was to implement a pivot of naval assets into the waterway. The question that is now posed is, was Obama tough enough on the Chinese way to passive. As China grows to compete with the U.S. as a superpower did Obama take the right courses of action to limit this Chinese growth. Obama’s Failure was that he couldn’t stop Chinese expansion which has left china in a stronger position with in the area that the surrounding countries are having to act into their own

The United States’ status as the dominant power in Asia may become contested as China modernizes its military. America’s main source of power in the region comes from its air and naval forces, and if it cannot capitalize on freedom of movement, it will lose its strategic advantage. This paper postulates that if China continues to develop its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) forces that directly counter the United States naval and air forces, there may be future threats to American primacy in Asia. China’s response to the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis and its understanding of necessary strategic deterrence against external United States aggression has pushed it to improve its military capabilities. This essay is divided into four sections, with

and Asian Pacific region. Therefore, according to JP 5-0, military planning begins with identification of a recognized challenge that U.S. senior leaders (Commander-in-Chief, Secretary Defense, Chairman of the Joints Chief) acknowledge and believe require a military response and/or action. (M.G., 2011) Thus, with initiation now started and the central problem [e.g. North Korean Provocations] identified from the Op Ed, we move to mission analysis to examine the current environment and desired end state(s) that the U.S desires to achieve which are also aligned with our National Security Strategy Objectives. Hence, within the next section, this author will take the key inputs provided (e.g. Air War College exam scenario, test Op Ed) and other well-informed planning factors as well as critical planning assumptions to begin the Mission Analysis.

Dear President Brad Bowers, I am sure you are aware of all the current issues that the nation faces. As a Historian, for the Office of the Presidential Council of Historians (OPCH), my duty is to inform you on how historical events can help you understand and possibly solve current issues. The long history of trade between the United States of America and China and the other nations of the South China Sea is well known. In many cases, there have been strong tensions between the countries in this area and the US. The tensions of the past are especially true for relations between China and the US. The relationship troubles have shown up in the news again as recently as Feb. 19th. In an article for USA Today, Thomas Maresca reports that the

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.

In July 2013, Wenweipo - the pro-PRC Chinese-language newspaper published an article titled “Six Wars China is sure to fight in the next 50 years”. According to this article, after unification of Taiwan (year 2020 to 2025), China will take the second war: Reconquest of Spratly Islands (year 2025 to 2030) and “China will send the ultimatum to countries surrounding the Islands with the deadline of 2028. The countries having disputes on the sovereignty of Islands can negotiate with China on preserving their shares of investments in these Islands by giving up”. In 1999, two Chinese military colonels – authors of the book namely “Unlimited War” suggested using an “unlimited war” to solve the disputing in the South China Sea. These authors said that, to avoid a war does not mean that not using military force and a conflict is indispensable. However, there is one more important thing that to control the intensities of conflict that. It is necessary to conduct some special activities to prove the sovereignty of China in the disputing Spratly Islands but do not let this activities increase to the total war. These things prove that the potential war between Vietnam and China in the future could be come true.

The dispute over the South China Sea denotes the process of power rebalancing while China rising as a hegemony in East Asia. China craves for more resources and power and decides to effectuate that by controlling more maritime territory. This act impelled the United State to align with the Philippines to balance with China. In a realism world, U.S. has adequate reason to intervene for fear for China becoming too strong a power.

“The South China Sea is the main time link between the Pacific and Indian oceans, giving it enormous trade and military value” (Rappler). There is a current conflict over a territory occurring in the South China Sea. There are multiple countries trying to militarize and attain the area. This is causing a lot of tension similar to Alsace Lorraine and the Balkan region leading up to World War One. The geographical resources that are in the sea make it very desirable. Land disputes during World War One in the Balkans and Alsace Lorraine, and those disputes that are forming in the South China Sea could have been prevented with negotiation and de-militarization.

This research tries to present both sides of the argument on the control over the islands from the Chinese and Vietnamese point of view, but has an emphasis on how the United States plays a vital role in the resolution of this dispute.

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.