Unsettled Disputes in the South China Sea: Determining the Lack of Cooperation among Claimant Countries in Challenging China
Abstract
Since the latter half of the twentieth century, China's conduct in territorial disputes within the nine-dash line (9DL) has received international criticism. After the landmark arbitral ruling in 2016 denounced China's historical claims to maritime rights within the 9DL and ruled China's actions in Philippine waters as unlawful, it became evidently clear to the international community that China had been overstepping the bounds of the United Nations Conventions on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS). Prior incidents with Japan and Vietnam had already portrayed China as provocative. If left unchecked, continued Chinese provocation in the South China Sea could threaten countries sovereign maritime rights in the region. This possibility poses an important question: Why have countries in Southeast Asia not more publicly and prominently cooperated with one another and the United States to balance against China's claims in the South China Sea? This thesis argues that claimant countries have not taken a collaborative approach to challenging China's assertiveness in the South China Sea due to three factors: heightened tensions in the South China Sea as a result of the U.S.-China rivalry, China's economic influence on claimant countries' decision-making, and the presence of a collective action dilemma among ASEAN to challenge China.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1212979
Entities
People
- Jason L. Punsalan
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School