Since the early 1990s when China drew up its policies dealing with countries within the South China Sea, it has adopted a conciliatory approach to economic and political factors. But in security matters, China has run into strong opposition from these countries, particularly now as Southeast Asian nations clamor for the return of the United States to the region. It is therefore urgent for China to re-examine its policies in relation to the South China Sea issue.
As the issue has been raised in recent years, it has invariably generated discussion focused on violation of territorial sovereignty and threats to marine rights. These are all true facts, no doubt, but we would be a little bit too narrow minded, however, if we looked at the South China Sea issue merely from the angle of territory coveted by neighbors. To handle the matter from such a starting point may lead us far astray and subsequently harm our national interests. In fact, the South China Sea issue is one involving both sovereignty and regional systems.
It is necessary to look at the South China Sea issue from the wider perspective of the regional system in the context of the history of Southeast Asia. It is well known that Asia already had developed a system of its own before the arrival of Western civilizations. Of the countries in the region, China and those washed by the South China Sea had evolved a tradition of handling their relations more from an operational standpoint than from any security considerations. With the entry of Western powers, however, this system collapsed immediately. What we learn today from this outcome is that the failure of China, the region’s central power, to play a role in safeguarding regional security caused the collapse of the traditional system. The survival of a regional system hinges on the levels of certainty, or insurance, given to the member states’ economies and sovereign security. To achieve true peace and stability in the South China Sea region, China should count its own security as an integral part of regional security, and handle all issues relating to the South China Sea with the view to safeguarding the regional system. This is its only road toward achieving national security.
The South China Sea issue also involves changes in international systems because it is in a zone where big powers exercise rights and interests. During the Cold War, the United States structured a massive system of alliances around the Asian continent. Instead of disintegrating after the Cold War, the system consolidated and rejected China’s return to the seas. Seeing China’s drive for marine rights as a challenge to its hegemony, the United States has been using all available means to block its ambitions. The South China Sea is the main wrestling ring for the strategic contest and the Unites States is going all out to win over allies from among countries along its boundaries.
The United States has worked since the 1990s on preventing China from at first gaining any ‘asymmetric superiority’ in east Asian seas and subsequently denying access by US forces to these waters. Thus the South China Sea is a “battle front” adopted by the United States to sustain its hegemony.
The South China Sea is also an arena marked for strategic operations by the US Navy. After the breakup of the former Soviet Union, the United States gained the right to marine, space and air control over all common areas around the world. In the foreseeable future, no navy of any country could grow powerful enough to challenge the US navy. Nevertheless, the United States is still exposed to threats from some contested zones, or littoral seas as termed in navy vocabulary, that have not yet been brought under its full control. The Chinese mainland is also listed as an arena of operations in the littoral strategy of the United States.
Last but not least, the South China Sea is a central stage for power contests. In spatial terms, these contests between China and the United States are centered in China’s coastal waters, including the South China Sea. In other words, it is the arena for the trial of strength between China and the United States, and the future development of issues relating to the South China Sea will surely have a profound effect on the development of global systems.
Integrated development of economic, political and security systems is the only solution to the South China Sea issue. Obviously, China has adopted political trust as the cornerstone of its policies concerning the South China Sea. Developments over recent years have shown, however, that no economic or political initiatives by China have influenced the security aspect to any noticeable extent. What China needs to do is link economic and political activity with security guarantees, or, in other words, build an all inclusive regional system.
As for specific measures to be taken, these should include: First, adherence to the principle of tabling sovereignty issues; Second, strong promotion of joint exploration and development and alleviation of concerns over regional energy, and; Third, active efforts to guarantee free and peaceful sailing
Finally, to solve the South China Sea issue, it is necessary to use systematic thinking, understand the systemic significance lying therein, and attach equal importance to political, economic and security measures to ultimately achieve peace and prosperity in the region.
Shi Xiaoqin is a fellow researcher with the War Theory and Strategy Institute of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences
