- 09 Nov 2017 04:33
#14860934
US policy to maintain "managed crises" in areas of disputed territories of the South and East China Seas
The South China Sea is the key shipping area of the world. Approximately 40% of world trade traffic passes through these sea routes, as well as through the Strait of Malacca. The traffic of goods through it is estimated at $ 5 trillion a year. China and other countries in the region - Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines - have disagreements on maritime borders and zones of responsibility in the South China and East China Seas. The PRC believes that the Philippines and Vietnam are consciously using US support to escalate tensions in the region.
Control over the water area of the South China Sea is the most explosive issue and the place of possible clashes between the US and Chinese armed forces. The essence of the disagreement boils down to the fact that the US advocates the principle of free navigation, which provides the US, as the most powerful naval power, a strategic advantage, and China tries to defend its exclusive rights to the water area. There are the Paracell Archipelago and the Spratly Islands, control of which means control over all trade and transport flows between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Each year, this waterway carries goods worth $ 5.3 trillion. Half of the goods flow is oil and oil products.
Among other pressing issues is the situation in the East China Sea, namely, the dispute between China and Japan about the territorial belonging of the Senkaku Islands. Although Chinese and Japanese leaders refrain from forcibly establishing control over the islands, unauthorized actions by commanders on the ground can lead to an unintended escalation of the conflict. For example, on February 10, 2017 in the sky over the South China Sea, two aircrafts - a US P-3 and a Chinese military aircraft - dangerously moved closer. They flew apart from each other at a distance of 300 meters. Obama when he was president said that the security treaty between the United States and Japan extends to the disputed islands. Thus, even a random incident can involve the US in a military confrontation with China.
It seems that this region will bear the greatest conflict load in the coming years (at least for the period of functioning in Washington of the current administration of Donald Trump), fraught with the emergence of a large-scale armed clash involving the US and China.
The South China Sea is the key shipping area of the world. Approximately 40% of world trade traffic passes through these sea routes, as well as through the Strait of Malacca. The traffic of goods through it is estimated at $ 5 trillion a year. China and other countries in the region - Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines - have disagreements on maritime borders and zones of responsibility in the South China and East China Seas. The PRC believes that the Philippines and Vietnam are consciously using US support to escalate tensions in the region.
Control over the water area of the South China Sea is the most explosive issue and the place of possible clashes between the US and Chinese armed forces. The essence of the disagreement boils down to the fact that the US advocates the principle of free navigation, which provides the US, as the most powerful naval power, a strategic advantage, and China tries to defend its exclusive rights to the water area. There are the Paracell Archipelago and the Spratly Islands, control of which means control over all trade and transport flows between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Each year, this waterway carries goods worth $ 5.3 trillion. Half of the goods flow is oil and oil products.
Among other pressing issues is the situation in the East China Sea, namely, the dispute between China and Japan about the territorial belonging of the Senkaku Islands. Although Chinese and Japanese leaders refrain from forcibly establishing control over the islands, unauthorized actions by commanders on the ground can lead to an unintended escalation of the conflict. For example, on February 10, 2017 in the sky over the South China Sea, two aircrafts - a US P-3 and a Chinese military aircraft - dangerously moved closer. They flew apart from each other at a distance of 300 meters. Obama when he was president said that the security treaty between the United States and Japan extends to the disputed islands. Thus, even a random incident can involve the US in a military confrontation with China.
It seems that this region will bear the greatest conflict load in the coming years (at least for the period of functioning in Washington of the current administration of Donald Trump), fraught with the emergence of a large-scale armed clash involving the US and China.
- By Tainari88
- By wat0n
- By Puffer Fish