The South China Sea: From a Regional Maritime Dispute to Geo-Strategic Competition

2019·3 MB·english

by  Leszek Buszynski and Do Thanh Hai

The South China Sea
This book explores the very latest developments in the South China Sea mar-
itime dispute. It examines the South China Sea as an arena for geostrategic
competition between China and the US and why the dispute is so important
for regional and global geopolitics. It outlines the most recent developments
in the sea itself and assesses the role of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and the current views of the contesting claimants. It con-
siders the position of countries from outside the region, India as well as
Japan; surveys military and naval developments; and examines confidence
building, preventive diplomacy, and dispute resolution measures. The book
concludes by highlighting the points of greatest risk and by discussing how
the situation is likely to develop going forward.
Leszek Buszynski is an honorary professor with the Strategic and Defence
Studies Centre at the Australian National University, Canberra, A ustralia.
From 1997 to 2010, he was Professor of International Relations in the
Graduate School of International Relations at the International University
of Japan. He has published widely on Asia-Pacific security issues and is
co- editor of the Routledge series on Asia-Pacific Security. His most recent
publications include: The Geopolitics of the Western Pacific: China, Japan
and the United States, Routledge 2019, and the edited book The South
China Sea Maritime Dispute: Political, legal and Regional Perspectives,
Routledge 2014.
Do Thanh Hai is Senior Fellow and Assistant Director-General of the Bien
Dong Institute for Maritime Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
(DAV). He obtained his doctorate from the Australian National University
and his master’s degree from Erasmus Mundus Global Studies Program. His
previous positions include vacation scholar at the University of New South
Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra and Deputy
Director of the Centre for Political and Security Studies of the DAV’s Insti-
tute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies in Hanoi. He is the author of
the book Vietnam and the South China Sea: Politics, Security and Legality
published by Routledge in 2017. He has published articles in The Pacific
Review, The ASAN Forum, CSIS PacNet, Journal of International Review
(DAV), and a number of news outlets.
Routledge Security in Asia Pacific Series
Series Editors: Leszek Buszynski, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre,
the Australian National University, and William Tow, Australian National
University.
Security issues have become more prominent in the Asia Pacific region
because of the presence of global players, rising great powers, and confident
middle powers, which intersect in complicated ways. This series puts for-
ward important new work on key security issues in the region. It embraces
the roles of the major actors, their defence policies and postures, and their
security interaction over the key issues of the region. It includes coverage of
the US, China, Japan, Russia, the Koreas, as well as the middle powers of
ASEAN and South Asia. It also covers issues relating to environmental and
economic security as well as transnational actors and regional groupings.
30 The New US Strategy towards Asia
Adapting to the American pivot
Edited by William T. Tow and Douglas Stuart
31 Vietnam and the South China Sea
Politics, Security and Legality
Do Thanh Hai
32 Japan’s Search for Strategic Security Partnerships
Edited by Gauri Khandekar and Bart Gaens
33 Geopolitics and the Western Pacific
China, Japan and the US
Leszek Busznski
34 The South China Sea
From a Regional Maritime Dispute to Geo-Strategic Competition
Edited by Leszek Buszynski and Do Thanh Hai
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com
The South China Sea
From a Regional Maritime Dispute to
Geo-Strategic Competition
Edited by
Leszek Buszynski and
Do Thanh Hai
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2020 selection and editorial matter, Leszek Buszynski and
Do Thanh Hai; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Leszek Buszynski and Do Thanh Hai to be identified
as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-27947-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-33148-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
Contents
List of tables vii
Acknowledgements ix
List of contributors xi
Acronyms xvii
Maps xxi
Introduction: the development of the South China Sea dispute 1
LESZEK BUSZYNSKI
1 Four aspects of the crisis in the South China Sea 9
STEIN TØNNESSON
2 ASEAN and the South China Sea 24
NGUYEN HUNG SON
3 ASEAN, China, and the Code of Conduct 43
CARLYLE A. THAYER
4 China and the South China Sea: continuities and adaptions 60
NONG HONG
5 Vietnam and the South China Sea 77
NGUYEN THI THANH HA
6 The Philippines–China joint development 93
JACQUELINE JOYCE F. ESPENILLA
7 Japan and the South China Sea 108
BONJI OHARA
vi Contents
8 The US and the South China Sea 117
PATRICK M. CRONIN
9 South China Sea: geopolitical connectedness to the Indian Ocean 137
GURPREET S KHURANA
10 European powers and the South China Sea 151
FELIX HEIDUK
11 International law, force, and coercion in the South China Sea 169
CONSTANTINOS YIALLOURIDES
12 Military build-up in the South China Sea 182
DEREK GROSSMAN
13 Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in the
South China Sea 201
COLLIN KOH SWEE LEAN
14 US employment of marine unmanned vehicles in the
South China Sea 217
RAUL (PETE) PEDROZO
Conclusion 230
DO THANH HAI
Index 239
Tables
10.1 Major threat perceptions in Europe (selected countries) 158
10.2 Share of EU member states in Southeast Asian arms
imports (in millions of US dollars and at constant 1990 prices) 163
13.1 MPRAs of SCS parties 203
13.2 Postulated UAV inventories of SCS parties 206

Acknowledgements
The editors would like to thank the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, the
Foundation for East Sea Studies, and the Vietnam Lawyers Association for
convening the 10th International Conference on The South China Sea: Co-
operation for Regional Security and Development in Da Nang in November
2018, upon which the book was based. This is a series of annual conferences
which has contributed to greater understanding of the issues and complex-
ity of the South China Sea dispute.
They are grateful to the staff of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam who
worked tirelessly and diligently behind the scenes to ensure the success of
the conference and to prepare the papers submitted for eventual publica-
tion. A special note of thanks goes to Ms. Nguyen Thuy Anh for her out-
standing work in coordinating the event and for her invaluable assistance in
the preparation of the manuscript.
Finally, the editors also express their sincere gratitude and appreciation
to all the contributors for their cooperation and patience during the edito-
rial process. The preparation of conference papers for publication is always
a demanding task, but the enthusiasm, patience, and perseverance of the
contributors made this task much easier. To them a special thank you.
Leszek Buszynski and Do Thanh Hai
Canberra and Hanoi, July 2019