How Sentiment Matters In International Relations China And The South China Sea Dispute

Der Aufstieg der Volksrepublik China stellt die internationale Politik und Diplomatie vor immense Herausforderungen. Gleichzeitig nehmen die Spannungen zwischen den USA und der Volksrepublik unaufhörlich zu. Beide Staaten steuern unmittelbar auf einen Konflikt zu, den keine Seite intendiert und dessen allumfassende Konsequenzen noch kaum absehbar sind. Ein besonderer Schauplatz dieser wachsenden Auseinandersetzung ist die Region Südostasien, in der sowohl die USA, im Verbund mit einigen Anrainerstaaten, als auch die Volksrepublik China miteinander in einem harten Wettbewerb um die regionale Vorherrschaft stehen. Dieses Buch zeigt anhand der territorialen und maritimen Konflikte in der Südchinesischen See auf, dass Chinas zunehmend proaktive und rücksichtslosere Position gegenüber diesen Konflikten und den Konfliktparteien auch eine Folge der zunehmenden Wahrnehmung von Respektlosigkeit und dem damit einhergehenden Wunsch Chinas, dies entsprechend zu korrigieren, ist und nicht allein eine strategische Entscheidung oder gar unvermeidliche Entwicklung darstellt. Auf diesen Ergebnissen aufbauend wird die Möglichkeit eines nachhaltigen Konfliktmanagements diskutiert und entsprechend eine Reihe konkreter Handlungsempfehlungen formuliert.

Prepared by the East Asian Institute, NUS, which promotes research on East Asian developments particularly the political, economic and social development of contemporary China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), this series of research reports is intended for policy makers and readers who want to keep abreast of the latest developments in China. Yann-Huei Song describes and analyses the evolution of the South China Sea Workshops.

Major law and policy issues in the South China Sea are discussed mainly from the perspectives of leading American and European scholars in the study of the complex South China Sea disputes. The issues include regional maritime cooperation and regime building, Southeast Asian countries’ responses to the Chinese assertiveness, China’s historic claims, maritime boundary delimitation and excessive maritime claims, military activities and the law of the sea, freedom of navigation and its impact on the problem, the dispute between Vietnam and China, confidence-building measures and U.S.-Taiwan-China relations in the South China Sea, and Taiwan’s role in the resolution to the South China Sea issues. Over the past three years, there have been several incidents in the South China Sea between the claimants, and also between the claimants and non-claimants over fisheries, collection of seismic data, exploration for oil and gas resources, and exercise of freedom of navigation. Third party concerns and involvement in the South China Sea disputes have been increasing as manifested in actions taken by the United States, India, and Japan. It is therefore important to examine South China Sea disputes from the legal and political perspective and from the view point of American and European experts who have been studying South China Sea issues for many years.

The South China Sea has long been regarded as a major source of tension and instability in East Asia. Managing the risk of possible conflict over disputed claims in the South China Sea has been a significant challenge for regional relations. This book explores international politics and security in the South China Sea. It outlines the history of the South China Sea disputes, and the efforts that have been made to resolve these, assessing the broader strategic significance of the region for major geopolitical powers. In addition, new challenges have emerged of resource management, environmental protection, and most recently, of the security and safety of shipping against the threats of piracy and maritime terrorism. The book discusses the convergence of traditional and non-traditional security issues now appearing to provide a basis for co-operation in the South China Sea. It shows how the challenge of establishing co-operative relations is now being met, largely through agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China in 2002 on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and a range of recent measures for functional co-operation.

Since 1949 and the founding of the People's Republic, China has been involved in more than one territorial dispute with its neighbours. Currently the most unstable and dangerous dispute is the one over the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea. With their potentially rich and accessible petroleum resources, these islands have become the new arena of conflict for the 1970s and 1980s, China having already fought a war with South Vietnam over the Paracel Islands. This book, based on a wealth of primary materials in the Chinese language, is the first to make a thorough and overall investigation of China's policy towards these islands. It deals with the battle for the Paracels, the dispute with Vietnam, the disputes with the Philippines and Malaysia, and the relationship between the territorial disputes and China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.

This volume takes readers beneath the surface of the South China Sea by exploring critical but under-researched issues related to the maritime territorial disputes. It draws attention to the importance of private sector, civil society, and subnational actors’ roles in the disputes and sheds light on key policy issues that are addressed less often in the literature. By going beyond mainstream analyses focused solely on issues of traditional security, resource economics, and international law, it offers a fresh and engaging look at the South China Sea disputes. The book is divided into five parts – historical foundations, enterprises, localities, people, and policy – and its chapters investigate historiography in the region, the global defense industry’s role as beneficiary of the disputes, tourism as a territorial strategy, the roles of provinces and local governments, disaster management, confidence-building measures, environmental and science diplomacy, and other topics seldom discussed in other analyses of the South China Sea disputes. The book’s diverse content and fresh perspectives make it an essential read not only for policymakers and those in the international relations community but also for all others interested in gaining a more well-rounded understanding of the many issues at stake in the South China Sea maritime territorial disputes.

Heightened tensions in the South China Sea have raised serious concerns about the dangers of conflict in this region as a result of unresolved, complex territorial disputes. This volume offers detailed insights into a range of country-perspectives, addressing the historical, legal, structural, regional and multilateral dimensions of these disputes

The South China Sea is arguably one of the world’s most dangerous regions, with conflicting diplomatic, legal, and security claims by major and mid-level powers. To assess these disputes, CSIS brought together an international group of experts—from Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. This volume gathers these experts’ analyses to provide a diverse and wide-ranging set of perspectives on the region and to explore possibilities for future cooperation.