Navigating a sea of conflicting claims

Zhang Mingliang & Yang Fang

MANY Chinese analysts have deep-rooted suspicions and even apprehensions of American policy in the South China Sea. They believe that America's intention is to check China's rise and drive a wedge between China and South-east Asian claimant countries.

Chinese concern has heightened recently following remarks by two high-level American officials. The first was United States Secretary of Defence Robert Gates' reiteration of American policy on the South China Sea at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The second was US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas' remarks on China's intentions in the maritime dispute.

Such remarks may be in response to China's recent statement in March when Beijing defined the South China Sea as one of its 'core interests'. However, it should be a reminder for China that, together with the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea has always been regarded by Washington as a fault line that can affect the stability of the Asia-Pacific. It is therefore in China's interest to review its perspective on America's South China Sea policy.

Two factors contribute to the American stance on the South China Sea.

The first is the overall direction and climate of Sino-US relations. In the past, America's attitude towards the South China Sea was a by-product of its bilateral relationship with China. However, this relationship has evolved.

China has constantly criticised the fact that the Allied powers' Treaty of Peace with Japan that officially ended World War II did not define clearly the issue of ownership over both the Spratly and Paracel islands. China takes the view that the US deliberately let the sovereignty issue remain vague. As Sino-US ties became antagonistic in 1950s and early 1960s, America opposed China's landing of its naval force in the Paracels.

Since the late 1960s, however, the US has restrained itself in intervening in the South China Sea, particularly when China was in conflict with Vietnam over the Paracel Islands in 1974 and the Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands in 1988. Washington's silence on these issues was favourable to Beijing and no doubt sprang from warming bilateral ties.

But after the Cold War ended, the US once again engaged actively in the South China Sea issue. This was welcomed by other claimants as a deterrence to China's ambition in the regional waters. However, the US made a formal statement in May 1995, clarifying that it remained neutral over the issue. This position was subsequently echoed by Secretary of Defence Gates in Singapore last month.

The second factor determining the US' stance on the South China Sea is America's fundamental interest in maintaining free access to the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) in the South China Sea, a point reinforced by Mr Gates.

Ever since America made its first commercial trip through the South China Sea - from New York to Guangzhou in 1784 - the importance of the SLOCs in this part of the world for the US has increased in economic and strategic terms. One of America's main approaches to defeating the Japanese during World War II was to destroy Japan's SLOCs in the South China Sea which connected South-east Asia to China and Japan. After the war, navigational freedom in the South China Sea has been linked even more closely to America's strategic interest.

As a waterway astride sea lanes between the Indian Ocean and East Asia, the South China Sea is of great strategic and economic value. Concern over freedom of navigation and security and safety of the SLOCs is growing due to America's long-term strategic connection with South-east Asian countries and its increasing maritime trade through this region.

The US has conveyed that it has no intention to take sides in the dispute and has called for a peaceful resolution of the competing claims in the South China Sea. This is in line with the common interests of China and regional countries. It is also a more positive approach to maintaining stability in the Asia-Pacific.

For China, the US is one of the main concerns within its strategic calculations towards the South China Sea. Washington's concern about the waters is in reality a positive signal for other claimants. However, its willingness to engage in the South China Sea may not be welcomed by Beijing. Nonetheless, America's involvement could benefit all parties in the region, including China.

America's direct or indirect involvement in the South China Sea over more than half a century is a fact that cannot be changed easily. Given this situation, it may be in China's interest to accept the status quo, which would be helpful in building confidence among all claimants and promoting stability in this region.

The US has contributed to efforts to tackle less-sensitive maritime issues. In the future, it is expected to tackle more common threats in the South China Sea, such as piracy incidents, navigation hazards, natural disasters, marine pollution, and other non-traditional security issues.

The writers are, respectively, visiting fellow and associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.