Maritime strategy for big blue horizons

Nation can better respond to a crisis 

Last year, the US conducted four "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea, and its vessels frequently visited the military bases of some of China's neighbors. China can better respond to such US actions (as well as the US military's presence in the region) now that it has built essential strategic facilities on some islands and reefs in the South China Sea and further strengthened its military. These factors could greatly influence the situation in the South China Sea.

Japan and Australia, the two important allies of the US in the Asia-Pacific, have tried to interfere in the South China Sea issue, and their involvement will add a new variable to the situation. For instance, in mid-2017, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force organized its first large-scale and months-long navigation in the South China Sea, and its vessels visited the ports of Vietnam and the Philippines. It also took part in the military drill held by the US and India in the Indian Ocean. These actions were aimed at extending Japan's "naval" reach beyond the South China Sea. Australia has taken similar actions, with its Asia-stationed frigates recently calling on the ports of Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. This means Australia is also trying to extend its naval arm to the South China Sea.

As the US and its allies conduct increasingly frequent and diverse "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea, China is expected to take more diverse and tougher response measures to protect its sovereign maritime claims. And since not much progress could be made in the past talks on a code of conduct in the South China Sea among the relevant parties, the sources of maritime disputes and frictions still exist. So far, no consensus has been reached on such issues as whether the code should be legally binding, whether it is a crisis settlement mechanism or a crisis control mechanism, or what kinds of maritime disputes such a consensus should be applied to.

Considering the code of conduct in the South China Sea under negotiation also involves who will benefit most from the making of the rules, China should take the initiative to maintain its presence in this arduous game, in which not only littoral but also some non-littoral states around the South China Sea hope to claim interest.