Dividing ASEAN and Conquering the South China Sea: China’s Financial Power Projection

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-541
Author(s):  
Daniel C. O’Neill ◽  
Gregory B. Poling ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Power Projection ◽  
Financial Power

Dividing ASEAN and Conquering the South China Sea

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. O'Neill
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Individual Member State ◽  
Financial Power

The “ASEAN Way” is based on the principle of consensus; any individual member state effectively has a veto over any proposal it does not support. This book analyzes how China uses its financial power and influence to divide the member countries of ASEAN in order to prevent them from acting collectively to resolve their territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. Comparative case studies of China’s relations with Cambodia, the Philippines, and Myanmar illustrate that the regime type in the country with which China is interacting plays an important role in enhancing or constraining China’s ability to influence the governments of developing states within ASEAN and globally. Authoritarian institutions facilitate Chinese influence while democratic institutions inhibit that influence. The book argues that as long as ASEAN includes developing, authoritarian regimes, and given that the United States and other global powers are unlikely to risk any serious conflict over each push of China’s maritime boundaries, little by little, China will assert its sovereignty over the South China Sea. Nevertheless, the book contends that if China chooses to engage in more sophisticated bilateral politics with democratic states, such as providing incentives to a broader range of interest groups, then China will have more success in projecting its power globally.

scholarly journals The United States’ China Containment Strategy and the South China Sea Dispute

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-193
Author(s):  
Victor Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The United States ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Containment Strategy ◽  
Financial Power ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Unites States

The common contention regarding the South China Sea is that its characteristic assets are the central or even the sole explanation for the debate. However, it is the argument of this study that this view is distorted and perilously deceptive. This study argues that there are multiple explanations for these territorial disputes and that they are significantly complicated by the proximity of a few players, the ascent of powerful new forces, the impact of financial power, the dispersion of military and political power, and geopolitical rivalry in Asia. The Unites States views China as a threat to its global hegemony and so has a policy of ‘containment’. In the context of the South China Sea, its policies therefore are not intended to resolve disputes in a mutually beneficial way, but to limit China’s influence. This forces countries to ‘choose sides’ rather than engage in mutually beneficial trade. The policy has now also led to a trade war, which could escalate into a military confrontation. This investigation examines the progression of this debate by taking into consideration the various geostrategic, geo-economics, and geopolitical interests of the parties involved and suggests a fundamental paradigm shift in the direction of research to be more conducive toward finding a realistic and peaceful resolution to the disputes in the South China Sea.

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