Originally published on the CGS blog on November 19, 2014.
Marked with glamour and excitement, China’s capital Beijing has not held such a monumental event since hosting the 2008 Olympics. World leaders and foreign dignitaries recently attended the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to discuss trade agreements and increase regional cooperation. Although many agreements were reached between countries, the summit was marked with high tension due to China’s aggressive policy towards territories in disputed waters.
In the past few years, China has begun to widen its territorial claims in areas that it believes it rightfully owns. These territorial claims have been driven by the demand for new natural resources and sources of food.
In the East China Sea, Japan and China have been fighting over Japan’s Senkaku Islands. Tensions have increased dramatically as China has sent coastguard ships and aircrafts to patrol the area. With a territorial claim by China, Japan is arguing that China’s aggressive tactics are violating its sovereignty. Before the start of the APEC summit, China and Japan established a four-point agreement to deescalate the situation.
Further south in the South China Sea, China has been flexing its muscle and causing agitation with its neighbors of Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Vietnam has been outraged by China’s actions near its coastal waters. In early May, protests against China occurred in Vietnam after China moved an oil rig to disputed waters near the Paracel Islands, both claimed by China and Vietnam. Despite these actions, China and Vietnam have held talks to cooperate more on maritime disputes and prevent future conflict.
China’s actions raise serious alarm to the regional stability and growth of the region. These waters have a tremendous amount of shipping traffic and one accidental mistake could lead to a catastrophic war between neighboring sides. China’s desire to grow and expand its economic prowess by taking these disputed waters has been fueled by the findings and understanding that there are over 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that lay beneath the seabed.
All this begs the question: Is China willing to act aggressively to claim control of these disputed territories? China has been rapidly advancing its naval capabilities by purchasing aircraft carriers from Russia and developing a new fleet of nuclear naval submarines. Their aircraft capabilities have also advanced rapidly. These advances in military capabilities have given China an edge over its neighbors, allowing them to act further out from the mainland.
A majority of the countries in this region (with the exception of Taiwan) have signed and ratified the Convention on the Law of the Sea. These aggressions by China signal an erosion to the treaty and show why US ratification could make a difference. China’s dangerous acts illustrate a failure to uphold its international responsibility. With these countries ratifying the convention, US participation would further reinforce the treaty’s provisions, help prevent conflict in this region, and halt China’s advances.
In sum, China’s territorial ambitions are causing rifts that could lead to conflict with its neighbors. Asia already has many border disputes, but China’s acts have gone beyond the norm. As China builds up its military, its neighbors might be compelled to follow suit. The growing threat is perhaps a reason to why the United States has started to increase its focus on the region and build more military bases as it sees China has a potential threat. Already the stage is set for a potential conflict. Hopefully, China will scale back from its acts of aggression, uphold its obligations under the Law of the Sea treaty, and cooperate with its neighbors to resolve these disputes rather than acting unilaterally.
