Viet Nam Human Rights
»
Analysis-Comment
»
home
»
News
»
political-social
»
US interests in the South China Sea disputes
US interests in the South China Sea disputes
12/7/14
As tensions in South China Sea flared
again between China and its
Southeast Asian neighbors over disputed territory, especially Vietnam and the Philippines. The United States
has paid more and more attention to the region and those disputes.
While the US
is not among the half-dozen claimants in the South China Sea, Washington
says it has a national interest in peaceful resolution of the disputes. Why
exactly the region is so directly important to U.S. interests?
The South China
Sea functions as the throat of the Western Pacific and Indian
Oceans – a mass of connective economic
tissue where global sea routes coalesce, accounting for $1.2 trillion in U.S. trade
annually. It is the demographic hub of the 21st-century global economy, where
1.5 billion Chinese, nearly 600 million Southeast Asians and 1.3 billion
inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent move vital resources and exchange goods
across the region and around the globe. It is an area where more than a
half-dozen countries have overlapping territorial claims over a seabed with
proven oil reserves of seven billion barrels as well as an estimated 900
trillion cubic feet of natural gas. And, the South China
Sea carries 40 percent of world trade. And here are two of the US’s allies, Japan
and Philippines, which also have
disputes with China.
So it’s not
strange when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once declared that “The
United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to
Asia’s maritime commons and respect for international law in the South China
Sea, and that America seeks “a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants
for resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion.”
And, in last two months when China has deployed its Haiyang Shiyou – 981 oil
rig and maritime forces into Vietnam’s
Economic Exclusive Zone, which led to escalating tensions in the region. US has
expressed serious concerns and objections to these actions. The Obama
administration has been increasingly critical of China’s assertive actions and has
called on it to clarify its expansive claims in accordance with international
law.
At the fourth
annual South China Sea Conference of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS) on “Recent Trends in the South
China Sea and U.S. Policy” on July 10 and 11, scholars and senior policymakers
were under no illusion that Beijing would tame its ambitions on its own any
time soon.
“Now is the time to change our dialogue
and be less deferential in our diplomatic speak”, said Republican Mike Rogers,
chairman of the Intelligence Committee of the US House of Representatives.
He accused China
of “gluttonous, naked aggression” in its drive to control territory and
resources in the South China Sea and called on the government to be more direct
and aggressive when dealing with China, echoing the point of view of
the White House.
At the conference, Rogers
called for the US to
increase intelligence sharing and military cooperation with other nations in
the region to push back against China
and show that it is not the sole and dominant power.
“Any military in the world that uses
its power to bully, intimidate and destabilize the economy of the world, is not
in the United States’ best
interests, nor of our allies nor our friends” Rogers told the conference.
Patrick Cronin, senior director of the
Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), said Washington and its allies need to impose costs on
China’s
behavior.
“We have to make the Chinese leadership
understand that unilateral change and the rule of force is not acceptable” he
said at the conference.
On July 10th,
The US Senate also passed the Resolution S.RES.412 on the East
Sea, requesting China to return
to the status quo as it existed before May 1, 2014. China’s territorial claims and actions have not been
clarified under international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea, constitute a unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force,
and appear to be in violation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the East Sea. It also reaffirms the strong support of the US Government for
freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace
in the Asia-Pacific region.
So, we can see how much US has paid interests in the region generally
and in the South China Sea disputes in
particular. What we want to know is how deep US would interfere into these. Let
wait and see!
Popular Posts
-
Religion is a part of the spiritual life in society, this phenomenon of the superstructure has been strongly changed with economic - social... -
Vietnam has just done well for the second cycle of Universal Periodical Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland. So, what’s the UPR? an... -
Thai people in Shutdown Bangkok protests Not until this crisis, we have realized the ne... -
Representatives from foreign countries congratulate Viet Nam on its election to the Human Rights Council for the first time on November ... -
A street flowers vendor in Hanoi Another new spring has come to Vietnam, bring... -
If nothing changes, there will be a preferential credit program with hundreds of thousands billion of capital for agriculture and r... -
Recently, several anti-governmental individuals have established series of illegal groups and organizations in the name of civil soci... -
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit international broadcasting agency of the United States government that broadcasts and...
All comments [ 10 ]
Come on US, let kick China's ass!
The South China Sea carries 40 percent of world trade. And here are two of the US’s allies, Japan and Philippines. This region is so important to the US interests and they will not let China do what they want here.
I'm so glad that The US Senate also passed the Resolution S.RES.412 on the East Sea, requesting China to withdraw its oil rig and forces from Vietnam's EEZ.
US will be a balancing power to break the China's dream, making it to be a nightmare!
The United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia’s maritime commons and respect for international law in the South China Sea. And it is so crucial in military, especially when China is escalating its military presence in the region.
Should we hope for US presence here? I still concern this.
It's so ironic that US and China are both former enemies of Vietnam, we are so fateful huh.
We need more and more international supports and when the support come from US, it's the most influential.
China’s territorial claims and actions have not been clarified under international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and appear to be in violation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.
I think US will play an important role in resolving the disputes and restraining China's aggressive actions.
Your comments