Building Multilateral Security Cooperation in the South China Sea

In: Asian perspective, Band 21, Heft 1, S. 5-36

Abstract

Abstract: The dispute over the Spratly Islands is an important indicator for the management of future relations in the Asia Pacific region. The Spratlys are claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei. This is a particularly sensitive issue due to the strategic importance of the South China Sea, and the Spratly Islands in particular. The central argument of the article is that the development of multilateral regional cooperative security approaches to the territorial disputes in the South China Sea could assist in the maintenance of peace and stability in the sub-region. There are three primary questions that need to be addressed in order to effectively develop multilateral security cooperation in the South China Sea. The first is whether the claimants are willing to compromise their claims in order to attain a peaceful settlement of the dispute. Second, will the claimants be willing to adopt confidence-building measures that restrict their capability to respond to crises before a final resolution to the dispute has been achieved? Finally, can the claimants reach an agreement on the rules and norms for state behavior in the disputed territory. It is argued that cooperative security approaches offer the most appropriate mechanisms for the eventual resolution of the Spratlys dispute. A high level of enmity still exists among the claimants but this is primarily focused against the People's Republic of China. China is seen as a threat to regional security because it has not renounced the use of force to resolve the dispute. The Chinese have also been reluctant to enter into multilateral dialogue over the issue as they feel they can gain more in bilateral meetings and fear being isolated on the issue in an international forum. The evolutionary nature of cooperative security approaches, however, offers the opportunity for others to convince the Chinese of the benefits of participating in multilateral institutions. The Workshops on Managing Potential Conflict in the South China Sea is also put forward as the best forum to deal with the Spratlys issue. The workshops adopt a cooperative security approach of promoting dialogue on regional security issues while also encouraging low level confidence-building among the littoral states through the development of joint development and research projects in the disputed area. The question remains, however, whether an informal process can develop sufficient habits of cooperation among the claimants to effectively spill over into a formal dialogue on sovereignty?