Biting the Cow’s Tongue: Securitization and Capacity Building in the South China Sea

Abstract

The South China Sea (SCS) territorial disputes have become one of the most significant security challenges in the East Asian Supercomplex (EAS). Described in Buzan and Wæver’s classic study as a Great Power Bipolar Supercomplex defined by China and Japan, the emergence and actions of South Korea and Indonesia as regional powers have rendered the EAS multipolar and unusually volatile. As the hierarchy in the EAS transforms into a multipolar one, the securitization of China has allowed Japan and South Korea to facilitate the capacity building efforts of Southeast Asian states at the expense of China. As a result, the littoral states surrounding the SCS have taken advantage of this strategic competition in order to advance their own interests.