201106 South China Sea crisis a chance for ASEAN to prove its worth

Experts and officials agree that ASEAN plays a key role in diffusing the tension and resolving the conflict.  If the ASEAN “wants to be at the center of its security universe, then it must be willing to confront difficult security situations such as the overlapping claims in the South China Sea,” says Mohd Nizam Basiron of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia.

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201106 More Trouble in the South China Sea

A article on The National Interest published in 2011 June-14, Ted Galen Carpenter discusses:

Washington faces a dilemma with the South China Sea controversy. The United States is the quintessential maritime trading state and, by far, the world’s leading naval military power. U.S. leaders have always been vigilant to challenge any actual or potential disruption of navigation rights in international waters. That position goes back to the first decades of the Republic, epitomized by the U.S. naval and marine expedition against the so-called Barbary pirates during Thomas Jefferson’s administration.

On the other hand, Washington places a high priority on maintaining good relations with China—relations that are already somewhat strained because of other issues. U.S. officials face a difficult choice. To prevent further damage to the bilateral relationship, they can mute their opposition to Beijing’s rather transparent power play in the South China Sea—even though that would weaken America’s traditional emphasis on unimpeded maritime rights. Or they can take a strong position against China’s territorial claims, even though that stance may cause the bilateral relationship to fray further. But a choice has to be made, because the South China Sea problem is not going to go away.

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201106 China Accuses Vietnam in South China Sea Row

In June, BBC News updated the current dynamics of South China Sea, mentioned,

Beijing said Vietnam had endangered Chinese sailors' lives and warned it to stop "all invasive activities".It follows an accusation by Vietnam that a Chinese fishing boat rammed cables from an oil exploration vessel inside its exclusive economic zone.

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201104 Effects of China’s Sovereignty Claims in the South China Sea

A paper wrote by  Richard L. Bosworth.

The US ability to project power is a major factor ensuring freedom of movement and security into the Western Pacific region. In the decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US capability to project power has been effectively unchallenged. This period of operating with relative impunity is rapidly coming to an end with the rise of a modern Chinese military power that will soon become a ―peer competitor.‖ China has become more aggressive in its claims of ―indisputable sovereignty‖ over territories in the SCS and appears intent on trying to exercise control over the zone by denying the US access. Freedom of movement through the South China Sea is vital to facilitating the US global posture. China‘s renewed assertiveness and rapid military transformation have increased the potential for those interests to be undermined. If the US allows these claims, of ―indisputable sovereignty‖ over the entire South China Sea, to go unchecked or unchallenged the US could lose its ability to project power into the region. USCDRPACOM finds itself at a cross-road, either take a more proactive approach to deter China‘s aggressive actions and to reassure our allies and partners of our commitment to the region or risk the loss of military access to areas vital to its security.

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201012 China’s position on the South China Sea : problems and progress.

In this essay which published on the RSIS Commentaries in 2 December 2010, the author Yang Fang argued:

China's South China Sea policy is not clear enough and has always been criticised by regional  countries. While it may not change its South China Sea policy fundamentally, China seems to be lately adopting a more open-minded approach.

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201005 Q&A With Robert Kaplan on China

In a interview conducted by Foreign Affairs, Robert Kaplan argues,

Everybody knows about the Taiwan Strait, but the key area to watch is actually the South China Sea, which may be as important in the twenty-first century as the Persian Gulf has been in the twentieth century. The South China Sea is an international waterway, it is the gateway to the Indian Ocean, it's got energy reserves, it's got problems of piracy, the potential Islamic terrorism. But even though it's an international waterway, the Chinese see it in Monroe Doctrine terms -- it's something that is part of their patrimony. They see the South China Sea the way the U.S. saw the Caribbean when it was expanding its power under President Theodore Roosevelt.

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200903 Who's Right in South China Sea Spat?

In the news updated by BBC, the report describes

The debate over a nation's (CHINA) claim to marine territory has been turbulent - after all, the seas carry immense riches of fish, oil, gas and other resources, as well strategic navigation rights.

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