Maritime Disputes With China In Asia-Pacific: An Analysis

Abstract

This paper is an endeavor to highlight the maritime disputes in Asia-Pacific and the response of regional states in the aftermath of Washington’s policy of “Rebalancing power in Asia”. Maritime disputes in Asia-Pacific have raised an alarming situation in the dynamics of regional politics. The issue has taken prominence since 1970s with the emergence of the concept of continental shelf and signing of United Nations Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS) in 1982. Moreover, with the growing need of energy and expansion of Chinese industrial network, China has taken an assertive position in order to stretch its sovereignty claims in South China Sea (SSC) and East China Sea (ECS), which in turn has led to the start of the race of modernization of naval security apparatus among regional actors. Owing to the geographical extant of China, Beijing has made its foreign policy objective to enhance its role in Maritime East at the expense of other contending powers like Japan, and USA. She never hesitates in blatantly discarding the US presence in the region and seems very ambitious in pursuing its “Far East policy”. With this view this study analyzes the Chinese posture of hegemony in the region with immense possibility of regional players to cooperate with China to avoid clashes in future.