Security Dilemma Between China and Other South China Sea Claimant States

Raditio, Klaus Heinrich

doi:10.1007/978-981-13-1283-0_6

Security Dilemma Between China and Other South China Sea Claimant States

Klaus Heinrich Raditio²

Chapter
First Online: 26 August 2018

1543 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter applies the concept of security dilemma between China on one side and “other claimants” on the opposite side. Even though the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei do not establish an alliance, they share anxiety of China’s potential of being offensive. On the other hand, China is anxious about controlling the South China Sea and the intervention of external power.

The chapter explains the activation of the dormant security dilemma and how the process reached the stage of spiral, culminated with China’s defection in the control of the Scarborough Shoal and massive construction of artificial islands. It also discusses the rationale of China’s defection by incorporating international and domestic factors, particularly the dynamics within the Chinese politics.

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Notes

1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6.
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7.
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8.
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10.
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11.
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12.
Ibid.
13.
Stephen Harner, “U.S. Policy, Not China Is Driving the Asian Arms Race,” Forbes Asia, 6 April 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenharner/2014/04/06/u-s-policy-not-china-is-driving-the-asian-arms-race/ (accessed 9 March 2016).
14.
Pilling, “Asia Follows China into an Old-Fashioned Arms Race,” Financial Times, 2 April 2014.
15.
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16.
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17.
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18.
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19.
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20.
Tang, “Social Evolution of International Politics: From Mearsheimer to Jervis,” 31–55.
21.
A Theory of Security Strategies for Our Time: Defensive Realism, 43.
22.
Ibid.
23.
Permanent Court of Arbitration, “Press Release of the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines vs the People’s Republic of China).”
24.
Jerome Cohen, “Like It or Not, UNCLOS Arbitration Is Legally Binding for China,” East Asia Forum, 11 July 2016, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/07/11/like-it-or-not-unclos-arbitration-is-legally-binding-for-china/ (accessed 20 July 2016); Hao Duy Phan, “Why a Ruling That Cannot Be Enforced Still Matters,” The Strait Times, 16 July 2016, http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/why-a-ruling-that-cannot-be-enforced-still-matters (accessed 14 August 2016).
25.
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26.
Owen and Schofield, “Disputed South China Sea Hydrocarbons in Perspective,” 809–22.
27.
Hayton, The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia, 27–28.
28.
Permanent Court of Arbitration, “Press Release of the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines vs the People’s Republic of China).”
29.
Ibid.
30.
Sutter, “China’s Self-Absorbed Nationalism,” The Diplomat, 31 August 2012.
31.
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32.
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33.
Permanent Court of Arbitration, “Press Release of the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines vs the People’s Republic of China).”
34.
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35.
Ralf Emmers, “China’s Influence in the South China Sea and the Failure of Joint Development,” in Rising China’s Influence in Developing Asia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).
36.
Ibid.
37.
Ibid.
38.
Chakraborti, “China and Vietnam in the South China Sea Dispute: A Creeping ‘Conflict–Peace–Trepidation’ Syndrome,” 283–301.
39.
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40.
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41.
Ibid.; Glaser, “Tensions Flare in the South China Sea.”
42.
Schofield and Storey, The South China Sea Dispute: Increasing Stakes and Rising Tensions.
43.
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44.
Glaser, “Tensions Flare in the South China Sea.”
45.
Chan and Li, “New Chinese Leadership, New Policy in the South China Sea Dispute?” 1–16.
46.
Fravel, “China’s Strategy in the South China Sea,” 292.
47.
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48.
Fravel, “China’s Strategy in the South China Sea,” 292; “Maritime Security in the South China Sea and the Competition over Maritime Rights.”
49.
US Department of State, Remarks at Press Availability, 23 July 2010, Hanoi, http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2010/07/145095.htm (accessed 8 July 2016).
50.
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51.
Carlyle A Thayer, “China’s New Wave of Aggressive Assertiveness in the South China Sea,” (Paper presented at the Conference on Maritime Security in the South China Sea, sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, 2011), 15.
52.
Ibid., 16.
53.
Ibid.
54.
Ibid., 17.
55.
Lyle Goldstein, “Chinese Naval Strategy in the South China Sea: An Abundance of Noise and Smoke, but Little Fire,” Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, 33, no. 3 (2011): 320–47.
56.
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57.
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58.
^uUS Department of State, Manila Declaration on US–Philippine Alliance, 16 November 2011, http://translations.state.gov/st/english/texttrans/2011/11/20111116141458su0.2878338.html#axzz4FaWayzlm (accessed 5 July 2016).
59.
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60.
Booth and Wheeler, The Security Dilemma: Fear, Cooperation and Trust in World Politics, 45–46.
61.
Kydd, Trust and Mistrust in International Relations, 66.
62.
Ying Fu, “South China Sea: How We Got to This Stage,” The National Interest, 9 May 2016.
63.
Ibid.
64.
Ibid.
65.
Zhang, “China’s Growing Assertiveness in the South China Sea: A Strategic Shift?” 21.
66.
Kydd, Trust and Mistrust in International Relations, 66.
67.
Tang, A Theory of Security Strategies for Our Time: Defensive Realism, 66–69.
68.
According to the UNCLOSTribunal, no feature in the Spratly Islands is island; therefore no one can claim a 200 nm of EEZ. See “Press Release of the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines vs the People’s Republic of China).”
69.
Wang Wen, “Debunking 10 Myths about China and the South China Sea,” South China Morning Post, 10 July 2016, http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1986732/debunking-10-myths-about-china-and-south-china-sea (accessed 16 August 2016).
70.
Thayer, “China’s New Wave of Aggressive Assertiveness in the South China Sea,” 3.
71.
Ibid.
72.
Chong-Pin Lin, “Behind Rising East Asian Maritime Tensions with China,” Asian Survey, 55, no. 3 (2015): 478–501.
73.
Zhang, “China’s Growing Assertiveness in the South China Sea: A Strategic Shift?” 19, 22; Goldstein, “Chinese Naval Strategy in the South China Sea: An Abundance of Noise and Smoke, but Little Fire,” 320–47.
74.
“Chinese Naval Strategy in the South China Sea: An Abundance of Noise and Smoke, but Little Fire,” 320–47.
75.
Jian Zhang, “China’s Growing Assertiveness in the South China Sea: A Strategic Shift?” in The South China Sea and Australia Regional Security Environment, 2 October 2013 (Canberra: National Security College, Australian National University), 19.
76.
Ying Fu, “South China Sea: How We Got to This Stage,” The National Interest, 9 May 2016.
77.
China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and thePhilippinesin the SouthChina Sea (People’s Republicof China Response to the 12 July 2016 ruling on the South China Sea territorial claims by the UNCLOS Tribunal), Beijing, 2016, http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2016-07/14/content_26088896.htm (accessed 15 July 2016).
78.
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79.
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80.
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81.
Ibid.
82.
Ibid.
83.
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84.
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90.
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92.
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93.
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94.
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95.
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96.
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97.
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98.
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99.
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100.
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101.
Ibid.
102.
Miller, “The CCP Central Committee’s Leading Small Groups,” 1–21.
103.
Interview with a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Scholar, Beijing, 5 November 2015.
104.
Interview with a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Scholar, Beijing, 5 November 2015.
105.
Julian E. Barnes Jeremy Page, “China Expands Island Construction in Disputed South China Sea,” The Wall Street Journal, 18 February 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-expands-island-construction-in-disputed-south-china-sea-1424290852 (accessed 17 September 2016).
106.
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107.
Ibid.
108.
“China to Complete Land Reclamation of Construction on Some Nansha Islands Soon,” China Daily, 16 June 2015, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-06/16/content_21017939.htm (accessed 13 May 2016).
109.
Tang, A Theory of Security Strategies for Our Time: Defensive Realism, 102.
110.
Ibid.
111.
Hunt and Quiano, “China Allows Philippines Fishermen Access to Disputed Shoal in South China Sea,” CNN, 31 October 2016.

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University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Klaus Heinrich Raditio

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Raditio, K.H. (2019). Security Dilemma Between China and Other South China Sea Claimant States. In: Understanding China’s Behaviour in the South China Sea. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1283-0_6

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1283-0_6
Published: 26 August 2018
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
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