The U.S. seems to be sending a mixed signal to Asia.
On the one hand, the Obama administration has reassured one of its closest allies in the region, the Philippines, that the U.S. is standing ready to defend the Philippines from any "third country attack." On the other hand, however, Washington has maintained that it will remain "neutral" in the Manila-Beijing confrontation in the South China Sea, potentially the biggest flashpoint for a conflict in Asia.
China is escalating its quarrel with the Philippines about the Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea. The People's Liberation Army Daily, the newspaper of the Chinese army, ran a tough editorial recently, warning that China would not allow anyone to interfere with its sovereignty claim about the entire South China Sea.
"Not only the Chinese government will not agree, neither will the Chinese people, and the Chinese Army will disagree even more," the editorial declared. To walk the walk, five ships of the PLA Navy Southern Fleet, including two guided missile destroyers, is sailing toward South China Sea on a two-month-long deployment. And according to China Daily, Beijing's official mouthpiece, "In order to better protect China's maritime rights, another 36 inspection ships will join the Chinese surveillance fleet."
The U.S.' seemingly "non-committal" stance in South China Sea has been criticized by the Philippines and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. As the tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing enters its second month, attention is shifting toward what role the U.S. might play in this escalating territorial conflict in the South China Sea.
During their unprecedented "2+2" meeting with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in Washington earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta had told their Philippine counterparts that the U.S. will maintain a "neutral stand" in the sovereignty dispute.
In the same meeting, however, Clinton and Panetta also made it clear the U.S. is committed to the 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, which provides for each country to come to the other's defense in the event of a third country attack.
So what is the U.S. strategy in the South China Sea?
The U.S. strategy can be summarized in one sentence: to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
As Simon Tisdall, of the Guardian, puts it, "China syndrome dictates Washington's Asia-Pacific strategy. Barack Obama has no wish to conjure the specter of a new cold war but is determined to beat back any Chinese bid for hegemony in Asia-Pacific."
To do so, the first step in the U.S. South China Sea strategy is to build up the defense capabilities of the Philippines and other members of ASEAN so to improve their ability to protect their own shores.
As George Amurao, of Mahidol University in Bangkok, said, "Washington's openness towards Manila's military wish list suggests a belief that well-armed smaller claimants can keep China at bay. In an official statement released by the Philippines on May 3, the U.S. government has agreed to triple the Foreign Military Financing it will award to the Philippines in 2012."
As part of Washington's high-profile foreign policy shift toward the Asia-Pacific, the U.S. also is going beyond ASEAN to enhance and enlarge its alliance system with other key states in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and India. To counterbalance China's growing power, the Obama administration announced the establishment of a permanent military base in Darwin, Australia. Amid the global troop cuts, U.S. ballistic missile defense cooperation with Japan is well advanced, and the U.S. military presence in South Korea will be reinforced. And Washington's desire to contain China's ambitions is a driving force behind the recent rapprochement with New Delhi.
Finally, to safeguard one of the busiest sea lanes in the world, the U.S. evolving Asia-Pacific strategy includes a stronger presence in the South China Sea. "This area is growing in importance to the future of the U.S. economy and our national security," announced Panetta, "this means improving capabilities that maintain our military's technological edge and freedom of action."
While an all out U.S.-China shooting war in South China Sea is not an inevitability, the U.S.' new South China Sea strategy represents a delicate tightrope act, one that aims to contain China's growing territorial ambitions in the South China Sea but avoid to oblige the U.S. to an open confrontation with China.
On the one hand, the Obama administration has reassured one of its closest allies in the region, the Philippines, that the U.S. is standing ready to defend the Philippines from any "third country attack." On the other hand, however, Washington has maintained that it will remain "neutral" in the Manila-Beijing confrontation in the South China Sea, potentially the biggest flashpoint for a conflict in Asia.
China is escalating its quarrel with the Philippines about the Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea. The People's Liberation Army Daily, the newspaper of the Chinese army, ran a tough editorial recently, warning that China would not allow anyone to interfere with its sovereignty claim about the entire South China Sea.
"Not only the Chinese government will not agree, neither will the Chinese people, and the Chinese Army will disagree even more," the editorial declared. To walk the walk, five ships of the PLA Navy Southern Fleet, including two guided missile destroyers, is sailing toward South China Sea on a two-month-long deployment. And according to China Daily, Beijing's official mouthpiece, "In order to better protect China's maritime rights, another 36 inspection ships will join the Chinese surveillance fleet."
The U.S.' seemingly "non-committal" stance in South China Sea has been criticized by the Philippines and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. As the tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing enters its second month, attention is shifting toward what role the U.S. might play in this escalating territorial conflict in the South China Sea.
During their unprecedented "2+2" meeting with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in Washington earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta had told their Philippine counterparts that the U.S. will maintain a "neutral stand" in the sovereignty dispute.
In the same meeting, however, Clinton and Panetta also made it clear the U.S. is committed to the 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, which provides for each country to come to the other's defense in the event of a third country attack.
So what is the U.S. strategy in the South China Sea?
The U.S. strategy can be summarized in one sentence: to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
As Simon Tisdall, of the Guardian, puts it, "China syndrome dictates Washington's Asia-Pacific strategy. Barack Obama has no wish to conjure the specter of a new cold war but is determined to beat back any Chinese bid for hegemony in Asia-Pacific."
To do so, the first step in the U.S. South China Sea strategy is to build up the defense capabilities of the Philippines and other members of ASEAN so to improve their ability to protect their own shores.
As George Amurao, of Mahidol University in Bangkok, said, "Washington's openness towards Manila's military wish list suggests a belief that well-armed smaller claimants can keep China at bay. In an official statement released by the Philippines on May 3, the U.S. government has agreed to triple the Foreign Military Financing it will award to the Philippines in 2012."
As part of Washington's high-profile foreign policy shift toward the Asia-Pacific, the U.S. also is going beyond ASEAN to enhance and enlarge its alliance system with other key states in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and India. To counterbalance China's growing power, the Obama administration announced the establishment of a permanent military base in Darwin, Australia. Amid the global troop cuts, U.S. ballistic missile defense cooperation with Japan is well advanced, and the U.S. military presence in South Korea will be reinforced. And Washington's desire to contain China's ambitions is a driving force behind the recent rapprochement with New Delhi.
Finally, to safeguard one of the busiest sea lanes in the world, the U.S. evolving Asia-Pacific strategy includes a stronger presence in the South China Sea. "This area is growing in importance to the future of the U.S. economy and our national security," announced Panetta, "this means improving capabilities that maintain our military's technological edge and freedom of action."
While an all out U.S.-China shooting war in South China Sea is not an inevitability, the U.S.' new South China Sea strategy represents a delicate tightrope act, one that aims to contain China's growing territorial ambitions in the South China Sea but avoid to oblige the U.S. to an open confrontation with China.
http://www.coshoctontribune.com/article/20120517/OPINION02/205170310/What-U-S-strategy-South-China-Sea-?odyssey=nav|head
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