How Beijing Can Reassure Its Neighbors in the South China Sea

How Beijing Can Reassure Its Neighbors in the South China Sea
Carla Freeman Article May 30, 2013

Summary

Regional stability is vital to sustaining the vibrancy of the Chinese and regional economies. It is in China’s interest to take steps to prevent further militarization of these disputes.

Competing territorial and jurisdictional claims in the resource-rich South China Sea have once again brought states in the region into direct confrontation. Maritime tensions have spilled over into broader regional interactions, injecting new frictions into relations among ASEAN members.

China’s substantial maritime claims in the resource-rich waters put it at the center of these disputes. Beijing’s claims overlap extensively with those of Vietnam, while the Philippines and several other states ringing the South China Sea have competing claims as well. In recent years, more assertive action by claimants, including China, to promote or reinforce their maritime stakes has increased the risk of conflict emerging that could destabilize the region.

Yet, regional stability is vital to sustaining the vibrancy of the Chinese and regional economies. In an era of international uncertainty and global security challenges, it is in China’s interest to take steps to prevent further militarization of these disputes. Beijing should take steps to foster cooperation with neighbors with which it has maritime disputes.
Carla Freeman is an associate research professor at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, where she also serves as the associate director of the China Studies Program and executive director of the Foreign Policy Institute.http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/05/30/how-beijing-can-reassure-its-neighbors-in-south-china-sea/g7c4