Global Power Revelry and South China Sea by Lester B Stone

Author:Lester B Stone [Stone, Lester B]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, International Relations
ISBN: 9789352978588
Google: 7NXCvQEACAAJ
Publisher: VIJ Books (India) PVT Ltd
Published: 2018-01-15T00:30:48+00:00

6

Security Concerns in

the South China Sea

Several recent statements and appointments highlight the current Bush administration view of China’s threat to Taiwan. Porter Goss, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, warned that improved Chinese capabilities not only threaten Taiwan but also U.S. forces in the (western Pacific) region. U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld worried that the Chinese navy was building some amphibious landing ships for possible use across the Taiwan Strait.

The appointment of combative neoconservative John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations sends a clear and ominous signal: formerly a paid consultant to the Taiwanese government, Bolton has advocated Taiwan’s independence and its full U.N. membership. Then, in February 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and their Japanese counterparts announced a significant alteration in the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance by identifying security in the Taiwan Strait as a “common strategic objective.”

Has there been any big shift in the balance of power around the Taiwan Strait that warrants this U.S. response? The Chinese defence budget has grown by double-digit increases for the past fourteen years. This year it’s up by 12 percent. But that is not significantly faster than the Chinese economy as a whole is growing. China is modernizing its defences — adding anti-ship missiles to aircraft, acquiring AWACS-airborne early warning and control systems, guided missile destroyers and frigates. However, its power projection capabilities are limited. It lacks any long-range amphibious capability or support infrastructure to supply forces over long distances for a protracted period. It also lacks heavy cargo-carrying aircraft, comprehensive air defences, seaworthy ships, and aircraft carriers. Given the current state of Chinese equipment and training, the Chinese have no capability to pursue an expansionist maritime policy in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea.

By contrast, the U.S. has overwhelming military superiority and an expansive network of military bases across the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. Pacific Fleet is the world’s largest naval command, including approximately 190 ships, about 1,400 Navy and Marine Corps aircraft and 35 shore installations. Over 300,000 Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Special Operations, and Intelligence military personnel are integrated under the unified command of PACOM, the U.S. Pacific Command.

What are China’s strategic goals between the Straits? China’s Defence White Paper of 2002 emphasizes the importance of pursuing peaceful external relations initiatives through multilateral, cooperative approaches to promote domestic development. The most recent Defence White Paper, published in December of 2004, reiterates this priority.

More important than statements of good intentions, however, China has taken significant steps to implement this goal. It was evident in the Framework Agreement on ASEAN-China Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, negotiated in November 2002. That led to the agreement signed in November 2004 to implement an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2010.

Following the 10th Summit Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in Vientiane, Laos in November 2004, Beijing held its own summit with ASEAN leaders (ASEAN Plus One) and then joined Japan and the Republic of Korea in discussions with ASEAN leaders (ASEAN Plus Three, or APT).

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