US, China and Asian Security

China’s rise as a military power and America’s ‘rebalancing or pivot’ policy have been the key emerging features of the emerging Asian security complex. However, the recent incident that involved a US guided-missile destroyer, USS Lassen, entering within 12 nautical miles of Beijing’s man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea brought to fore the potential conflict between the two countries. Washington intends to carry out more ‘freedom of navigation’ patrols in future which could ratchet up tension in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and jeopardize Asian security efforts through multilateral diplomacy.

The South China Sea patrolling visit by the American ship is not an isolated incident but part of a larger game where China and the US have differing perceptions of Asian security. America, which often enforced pax Americana in Cold War days at will, does not have preponderant hegemonic power to enforce stability and order due to relative decline in its power and concurrent rise of other powers, most notably, China. A rising China would love to fashion a Sino-centric Asia-Pacific regional order or what critics love to describe as pax Sinica. The US along with other countries is worried about the transition of China from a weak continental power to a maritime power where the Chinese PLA is increasingly getting involved in territorial disputes with its aggressive military posture.

South China Sea is at the core of this strategic context. The region accounts for 10 percent of global fisheries production and sits upon 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. More than $ 5 trillion of world trade passes through the region. No wonder, apart from China, many other countries in the region claim the area either in full or in part! China has been in the forefront in consolidating its claims by using a steady progression of small, incremental steps to increase its effective control over disputed areas. The mission is backed by rapid military modernization of PLA. During 2013-14, China launched more naval vessels than any other country. The PLA Navy now possesses the largest number of vessels in Asia, with more than 300 surface ships, submarines, amphibious ships and patrolcraft!

In order to counter Chinese influence in the region, the US recently published the Asia- Pacific Maritime Security Strategy under the McKeon National Defence Authorization Act (2015). According to this strategy paper, while the United States takes no position over competing claims for land claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea,China’s expansion of disputed features and artificial island construction in the Spratly Islands is a major concern. Accordingly, the US is to strengthen its military capacity in Asia-Pacific region to deter conflict and coercion and work with allies to build their capacity to address potential challenges in their waters and across the region. The visit by the US ship in the disputed areas of South China Sea was quite intentional and part of its well-calibrated strategy. In fact, even as the crisis was getting unfolded, US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter was touring Asia Pacific region, meeting leaders of a dozen countries to help advance the next phase of US military’s rebalance in the region.

The South China Sea incident only highlights the ugly reality how the Asia-Pacific region has become the most militarized in the world that could lead to a conflict. As PLA modernizes its capabilities and expands its presence in the region, American and Chinese forces will be drawn into close proximity which increases the risk of an incident, an accident or a miscalculation. At the end of the day, Chinese incremental aggression and US super cop behaviour is jeopardizing Asian security efforts. On the one hand, while the fragile security in Asia- Pacific, both as a concept and architecture is being damaged, it is also leading to increased tension between the two powers. The not so ‘peaceful’ rise of China has only raised the risks in the bilateral relations. The relative ‘power gap’ between the two countries wherein China is still lagging behind the US on most indicators of military might may not deter the former from teasing and testing American resilience.

USA and China, therefore, have a big responsibility to address issues related to Asian security.Both countries need to strengthen Asian security architecture, through multilateral diplomacy, in particular, military diplomacy. In November 2014, in a major maritime CBM, the two countries entered into an agreement for notification of major military activities and also framed rules of behaviour for safety of air and maritime encounters.It was heartening to see, therefore, that the standoff in South China Sea did not escalate into a major showdown and both sides followed the protocol agreed between them. Further, the two countries agreed to conduct a joint drill in the Atlantic immediately thereafter.

Military diplomacy and not standoff offers a win-win solution to various conflict issues in the South China Sea and Asia-Pacific region. The US and China, as two great powers and rivals, need to show restraint and stop testing each other. They need to engage each other in comprehensive and multi-dimensional military commitments so as to preserve, protect and promote Asian security efforts. 

Views expressed by the Author are personal.