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 . It was the first time that had ever occurred. Strategic. The strategic landscape of the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia in the early 1990s was remarkably benign with optimism in full flower. Australia, for its part, has vocally supported U.S. freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea and may have quietly conducted its own in recent months. U.S. access to the military facilities on the South China Seas southern flank, however, would shift the regions balance of power in Americas favor. 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. Chinas military modernization has included structural reforms establishing a Joint Operations Command and five new theatre commands (Northern, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central). That grouping came under Chinese control an event that went almost entirely unnoticed in the wider world as the drama marking the end of the Vietnam War played out. Should those ties continue to expand, moreover, the United States may find that it has greater flexibility in dealing with a vexing regional ally: Thailand. The second will analyze the strategic landscape in and around the South China Sea. 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. These islands are large enough for military runways and well as SAM installations. 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. Strategic Landscape of the South China Sea: While geopolitics indicates geographical relations with politics, there is another importance which is strategic. Any temptation to alter U.S. policies in the South China Sea to preserve cooperation with China in other areas is unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. In each of these arenas, a successful Chinese effort to seize control of the South China Sea will have a profound impact and each is worth elaboration. Sign up to receive ShareAmerica updates. Anil Trigunayat, 5th Generation Warfare: A Real Global Warming (Alarming) and its Implications for Pakistan, The Geopolitics of Indo-Pacific: the Rise of India and the Possible Challenges for Pakistan, 75 Years of Pakistan's Independence: Audit of Achievements and Failures, Bacterial Attack on Azerbaijani Oil a fictitious scenario, Pakistan, from the Shackles of Oligarchy to the Emergence of Democracy, Impact of Climate Change on Flood-Stricken People in Balochistan, Dimensions of Religion: Use, Misuse and Beyond, Breaking Free from Fossil Fuels: Why Nuclear Energy is Significant for Pakistan, Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education and Scientific Research: an interview with Fatima Roumate, Dalits, the Bottom of Indias Caste Ladder. It will always have an eye on the need to protect itself against attack from the sea, but there's much more to China's vulnerability than potential invasion or bombardment. In addition to conventional concerns about territorial defense, the South China Sea is also important for China because of its nationalist claims to all of the tiny land . Should they be neutral, China may lord over the southern reaches of the South China Sea from military bases on its newly created and expanded islands in the Spratlys. Thus, it is said that the South China Sea could be the battleground of World War III. Unfortunately, the allies now lack a shared strategic outlook, thus reducing the impetus to overcome recent bilateral political hurdles. China is undertaking a persistent, long-term effort to establish control over the South China Sea. Moving forward, freedom of navigation and routine presence operations should be executed on a regular basis to demonstrate U.S. resolve to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. U.S. leaders should not be afraid of tension in the U.S.-China relationship. The global focus of economic power has traditionally been centred over the west with the UK and the USA as the key contributors; however in recent years, this has shifted east (see Figure 1), with the main reason for this being rapid urbanization in developing countries, in particular China. With Burma internationally isolated for much of the past three decades, Beijing invested heavily in that countrys leadership. By the end of the 1970s, communist insurgencies outside Indochina had been effectively suppressed. The United States now has the opportunity to secure for another generation the peace that has held in Asia for nearly four decades now. South China Sea is a strategic sea lane is significance for connectivity, navigation, trade and resources is a global hotspot as a potential flashpoint. These same sea-lanes are a vital military artery as the U.S. Less sexy but no less important is a forthcoming arrangement by which Vietnam will allow the United States military to preposition supplies and equipment in Da Nang on the central coast. U.S. access to the South China Sea is coming under increasing threat as Chinese power increases, but can be preserved if the United States maintains a sufficient military advantage over China. If China succeeds, in displacing U.S. power in the Western Pacific and Chinese territorial expansion into the South China Sea becomes permanent and codified, global geopolitics will have entered a new and very different era. The primary challenge to American regional predominance came from Maoist China first through the Korean War and then via communist insurgencies throughout Southeast Asia culminating in the Vietnam War (1963-75). The message will be clear; the era of American international leadership and predominance is over and a new preeminent power has taken its place. China, for example, has asserted a maritime claim to a large majority of the South China Sea that is not consistent with international law. 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 importance of the SCS is mainly due to its geographical location, as the area is one of the worlds busiest and most strategic shipping lanes. When it comes to trade, investment and infrastructure development, China should not be the only game in town. In addition, the United States has affirmed some responsibility for the defense of Taiwan and has close security ties with Singapore and New Zealand. Accordingly, Malaysia's note verbale serves as the strongest stance of Malaysia on the SCS in recent times and aligns itself with the top priority of its DWP. All Rights Reserved, Japans Emerging Role as the Worlds Consensus Builder, Balancing Acts in U.S. Southeast Asia Policy, Pakistans Foreign Policy Priorities: A Conversation with Foreign Minister by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Indias Economic Ambitions in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Paving the Path to Soft Power: Crucial Moments in South Koreas Cultural Policies, Afghanistan: The United States Must Stay Engaged. The U.S. through South China Sea Port is 1400 kms long. This access will allow for more frequent, more sustained flights over the South China Sea, including over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. Burma, however, is a potential bright spot for the U.S. position in continental Southeast Asia. Certainly, the ongoing reform process and the opening of relations with the United States amount to a strategic setback for Chinas position in the region. It has increased its military budget by over 8.5% in recent years and this is likely to continue for the near future. The refusal, likely prompted by Beijing, might seem to be just another way for China to put pressure on Taiwan, which it has long regarded as a renegade province. In particular, Chinas growing assertiveness over sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea could be assessed as a serious challenge to the status quo in the region. Notably, the paper identified Malaysia's maritime claims in the South China Sea as its top security concern. Generally, oil and minerals move north, and food and manufactured goods move south. That redundancy will grant the United States flexibility in a couple of ways. Thanks to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), American power projection capabilities will be regularly present in the Philippines for the first time since the early 1990s. This has continued in to the present day. Sun Tzu Explains China's Shaping Operations in the South China Sea. Washington, DC 20036. Not taking a position on sovereignty allows the United States to flexibly intervene in the South China Sea to defend its interests and international rules and norms, while undercutting Chinese attempts to paint U.S. actions as a threat to Beijings sovereignty. The United States has formally objected to Chinas South China Sea maritime claims. There are certainly other situations involving other challenges, but this is the most plausible and dangerous. More importantly, it also covers the most crucial energy routes for East Asian countries to transport oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. multifaceted fiscal and strategic benefits, acting as a magnet for the regional as well as . The United States has leverage over China in areas not directly related to South China Sea and may have to consider using or threatening to use these tools to stabilize the regional order. At the economic front, it is estimated that an annual global trade of $5.3 trillion passes through the SCS. The United States emerged from World War II as a resident great power in East Asia. Utapao has been suggested as a permanent Southeast Asian Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) hub. From a strategic perspective, the geographical significance of the SCS is that whoever has dominance over it, dominates the future of East Asia.