China's ocean development strategy and its handling of the territorial conflicts in the South China Sea

Abstract

China's economic growth leads to an increasingly ambitious ocean development strategy. In addition, China has been more assertive in the South China Sea territorial disputes. In view of the exacerbating “China threat” perception, Chinese leaders attempt to maintain a balance: while building a modern navy, China avoids its deployment in maritime law enforcement and the handling of minor territorial conflicts. Efforts have also been made to de-escalate such conflicts while establishing a deterrence effect. Given such context, the recent Sino-Filipino conflict over the Scarborough Shoal is now presented as a model of the way China asserts its sovereignty claims in territorial disputes. This article considers Chinese foreign policy from a traditional realism approach based on content analysis of existing documents, literature and interviews of Chinese academics in the field. It observes how China's neighbours remain suspicious of Beijing's intentions. It concludes that China's relations with ASEAN have been adversely affected by the recent confrontation, demonstrating its problem of maintaining a balance in the pursuit of multiple foreign policy objectives.

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