Chinese Involvement in "Maritime Agreements" within the Asia-Pacific: Reducing Risks and Providing Reassurance

Abstract

This thesis examines the state of maritime operations in the Asia-Pacific region conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) since Beijing's admission to the United Nations in 1971. The goal is to develop a historical understanding of Chinese militarized incidents at sea and assess the ability of current Chinese maritime agreements and international institutions to reduce such incidents in the future. The data compiled in this paper can help facilitate future United States and PRC maritime agreements and, more generally, cooperation. Understanding the current nature of Chinese engagement can help to recalibrate our measurement standards along with our goals for future talks. To foster successful maritime cooperation between the United States and China adherence to several principles will greatly increase the chances of that relationship's success: building on common interests, utilization of confidence building measures (CBMs), basing cooperation on domestic (i.e., national) laws, building mechanisms for predictability, and, finally, ensuring an operating environment with both tactical and political space.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA479935

Entities

People

  • Albert H. Geis Jr.

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Boats
  • Commerce
  • Foreign Relations
  • Globalization
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Marine Transportation
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Sociopolitics
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Space