• Home
  • Politics
  • Health
  • World
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
What's Hot

Short and Funny Sayings for a Happy Summer with Friends

May 9, 2025

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Friday, May 9
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
  • Home
  • Politics

    Security video shows brazen sexual assault of California woman by homeless man

    October 24, 2023

    Woman makes disturbing discovery after her boyfriend chases away home intruder who stabbed him

    October 24, 2023

    Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly support Israel’s war on Hamas, but younger Americans defend Hamas

    October 24, 2023

    Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off engines midflight on Alaska Airlines

    October 23, 2023

    Leaked audio of Shelia Jackson Lee abusively cursing staffer

    October 22, 2023
  • Health

    Disparities In Cataract Care Are A Sorry Sight

    October 16, 2023

    Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand

    October 16, 2023

    Long-term steroid use should be a last resort

    October 16, 2023

    Rite Aid Files For Bankruptcy With More ‘Underperforming Stores’ To Close

    October 16, 2023

    Who’s Still Dying From Complications Related To Covid-19?

    October 16, 2023
  • World

    New York Democrat Dan Goldman Accuses ‘Conservatives in the South’ of Holding Rallies with ‘Swastikas’

    October 13, 2023

    IDF Ret. Major General Describes Rushing to Save Son, Granddaughter During Hamas Invasion

    October 13, 2023

    Black Lives Matter Group Deletes Tweet Showing Support for Hamas 

    October 13, 2023

    AOC Denounces NYC Rally Cheering Hamas Terrorism: ‘Unacceptable’

    October 13, 2023

    L.A. Prosecutors Call Out Soros-Backed Gascón for Silence on Israel

    October 13, 2023
  • Business

    Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

    May 8, 2025

    Electric Vehicle Sales Nosedive As GOP Takes Buzzsaw To Biden’s Mandate

    May 7, 2025

    Tyson Foods Announces It Will Bend The Knee To Trump Admin’s New Rules

    May 7, 2025

    Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady Despite Pressure From Trump

    May 7, 2025

    ‘Wait Them Out’: John Kennedy Tells Larry Kudlow One Lie He Suspects China’s Telling US

    May 7, 2025
  • Finance

    Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

    April 17, 2025

    The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

    April 17, 2025

    Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

    April 17, 2025

    How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

    April 16, 2025

    The US Flip-flop Over H20 Chip Restrictions 

    April 16, 2025
  • Tech

    Cruz Confronts Zuckerberg on Pointless Warning for Child Porn Searches

    February 2, 2024

    FTX Abandons Plans to Relaunch Crypto Exchange, Commits to Full Repayment of Customers and Creditors

    February 2, 2024

    Elon Musk Proposes Tesla Reincorporates in Texas After Delaware Judge Voids Pay Package

    February 2, 2024

    Tesla’s Elon Musk Tops Disney’s Bob Iger as Most Overrated Chief Executive

    February 2, 2024

    Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Grew $84 Billion in 2023 as Pedophiles Target Children on Facebook, Instagram

    February 2, 2024
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
Home»Finance»China’s Bid to Construct a ‘Maritime Community With a Shared Future’ in the South China Sea
Finance

China’s Bid to Construct a ‘Maritime Community With a Shared Future’ in the South China Sea

November 15, 2023No Comments9 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
China’s Bid to Construct a ‘Maritime Community With a Shared Future’ in the South China Sea
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

As the presidents of China and the United States prepare to meet in San Francisco, on the sidelines of this year’s APEC Summit, governments around the world will be watching. That’s particularly true in Asia, among China’s neighbors, where the stakes for China-U.S. competition are highest. 

The South China Sea issue looks set to feature prominently on the agenda, given repeated worrying encounters between China and the Philippines, a U.S. ally. But to focus only on the security dimension of China’s presence would miss the point. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping set the goal of creating a “Maritime Community with a Shared Future (MCSF)” in 2019, and it is working to make this a reality in the South China Sea. To that end, China is basing its outreach to Southeast Asian countries on three pillars of cooperation – economic, security, and cultural, or civilization in China’s parlance. The goal is to capitalize on China’s institutional capabilities to universalize its own interpretations of development, civilization, and security in the South China Sea. Through this process, Beijing aims to complete a “passive revolution” in the disputed waters.

“Economicizing Disputes” at the National Level

The strategy of “economicizing disputes” arose in October 1982, when China officially mentioned the concept of “putting aside disputes and pursuing joint development.” China then made efforts to continuously ask the Philippines (since 1986) and Vietnam (since 1995) to support this concept. By 2005, China successfully mobilized the Vietnamese and Philippine governments to participate in a joint exploration agreement in the South China Sea. In the end, this project had no further results and Beijing failed to maintain this trilateral mechanism. Still, it set a precedent for any future economic projects in this area.

In 2013, China’s 18th Party Congress proposed the policy of building China into a maritime power, continuing to emphasize the core position of maritime economic security in China’s new mixed security concept (a view put forward during Jiang Zemin’s era). This was an important theoretical development aimed at enhancing the role of “economicization of disputes” in combination with two traditional trends of “politicization” and “militarization” of disputes. 

In 2014, China began building artificial islands on reefs and shoals in the Spratlys group,  a move strongly denounced by rival claimants. In April 2015, for the first time, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced the “dual use” plan to deploy the artificial islands that China had been building in the South China Sea. The islands would, in theory, be used to provide “shelter construction, navigational aid, search and rescue, maritime meteorological forecasting services, fisheries services, and necessary administrative procedures” for China, neighboring countries, and “other operating ships in the South China Sea.” 

See also  Biden's electric vehicle push is doomed to failure, warn carmakers

In 2017, China launched an initiative for economic cooperation in the expanded South China region at a meeting on the sidelines of the Bo’ao Economic Forum. China maintained this topic on the Bo’ao Forum’s agenda in 2018 and 2019. This initiative referred to maritime economic, marine science, and maritime logistics cooperation projects in the South China Sea – all coordinated by China. The hope is that these steps will gradually lead to building a common cooperation institution for the South China Sea region, again with China in the leading position. In addition, at the Bo’ao Forum in 2019, China announced the possibility of attaching the Expanded South China Regional Economic Cooperation Initiative to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a mega project on connectivity infrastructure that has the support of many countries inside and outside the region.

To strengthen efforts at the national level, many Chinese local governments have also deployed maritime trade connection routes passing through the South China Sea. The first is the Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor (BGEC) established in 2014. Next is the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) connecting project to open a railway from Chongqing to Singapore, with the first rail-sea element completed in September 2017, and the connection through 120 stations across 61 cities in China to Singapore. 

Also within the framework of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI), in April 2019, the ILSTC route launched the first land-sea connection route from Chongqing through ports in the Gulf of Tonkin (Guangxi) to Indonesia. All three of these land-sea routes in the ILSTC have maritime routes passing through the South China Sea. By early 2019, the government of China’s Hainan province announced that it was building Woody Island (the largest of the Paracels, known as Yongxing Island in China and Phu Lam Island in Vietnam) and small islands in Paracel Islands into a strategic logistics center.

This move was combined with the recording of construction and accretion activities to expand Triton Island, another feature in the Paracels, since March 2023. These activities suddenly accelerated in early August 2023. The impressive level of renovation has seen the former observation post, dome, small port, and helipad on Triton transformed into a concrete pier located inside a seawall harbor with the record of three radar domes, as well as a large administrative building and an airport with a short runway. This transformation could be considered as China’s direction of completing its important connection infrastructure platforms to support the routes of the ILSTC.

See also  Charged Diplomacy: How Australia Can Navigate the Geopolitical EV Tightrope Between China and the West

Completing an MCSF in the South China Sea: The “Securitization” and “Civilization” Pillars

After more than 40 years of efforts to “economicize” the South China Sea, the ILSTC corridor is now emerging as an important project in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and receiving the participation of many members of the ASEAN bloc. Based on this cohesive foundation, China has simultaneously deployed the remaining two pillars of “securitization” and “civilization” to cement its influence in Southeast Asia – and particularly the South China Sea.

Under the “securitization” pillar, joint patrols and exercises, from bilateral to multilateral, play a core role in setting the foundations. Eventually, China hopes to unite the common security interests of nearby countries in its “Maritime Community With a Shared Future” in the South China Sea. However, because security cooperation is a sensitive area, China tends to deploy a step-by-step approach. China started with neighboring areas (such as the Mekong River) before moving to areas such as the West Philippine Sea, Natuna Sea, Gulf of Thailand, and finally to the center of the South China Sea. 

Specifically, China and Vietnam conducted 34 joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin from 2005 to June 2023. China has also joined Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand in 131 joint patrols on the Mekong River from 2011 to the end of July 2023. In terms of joint exercises, China has established the Aman Youyi exercise since 2014, with the initial form only as a framework for bilateral exercises between China and Malaysia in the “bordering” areas of the South China Sea. In 2018, the Aman Youyi exercise activities became a trilateral framework between China, Malaysia, and Thailand and continued to expand until 2023 with a total of six participating countries (adding Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam). 

This year also marked a series of land and sea exercises between China and ASEAN members such as the sixth Golden Dragon exercise between China and Cambodia (March 2023), joint exercises in communication and rescue between the Chinese and Indonesian navies (May 2023), the China-Laos Friendship Shield anti-terrorism exercise (May 2023), the China-Thailand Blue Strike naval exercise (September 2023), and China-Singapore naval and land exercises (September 2023). This series of moves shows that China is effectively shaping a “hub-and-spoke” posture with China, at the center, coordinating joint exercises and patrols with the outer “spokes” – individual ASEAN members. China is also development “minilateral” architectures of three parties (China-Malaysia-Thailand), four parties (the joint patrols on the Mekong River), and six parties (the Aman Youyi exercise).

See also  Saudi Oil Cuts Throw Last Year’s Standout Economy Into Slow Lane

Regarding the “civilization” pillar, in the context of the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) proposed by Xi in mid-March this year, cultural links in the South China Sea are currently being implemented in two directions. The first is strengthening maritime archeology projects intending to search for shipwrecks in the South China Sea to highlight the historical presence of Chinese commercial and naval fleets. The goal is to strengthen the legal aspect of China’s sovereignty in the South China Sea, both by finding historical evidence to back China’s claims and by building cultural heritage sites on the seabed. 

The second “civilizational” effort is developing heritage diplomacy to mobilize cities or countries located on the Maritime Silk Road to jointly participate in submitting common heritage dossiers to UNESCO. This process was announced in 2014 and conceptualized in 2015. The application started in 2016, and an alliance of 24 Chinese cities was formed to jointly submit the Maritime Silk Road heritage project to UNESCO in 2019. The submission was then combined with the Annual Conference of the “Alliance of Cities Preserving the Maritime Silk Road.” 

Therefore, China’s approach is both bottom-up (promoting local projects with connections to countries in the region) and top-down (establishing the GCI framework next to the Nishan World Civilization Forum) to maximize the direct impacts. But all these projects share a common emphasis on maritime research and conserving cultural heritage in the South China Sea, with a particular focus on ties to ancient China.

In general, with a methodical approach following the three-pillar orientation, China’s construction of an MCSF in the South China Sea has been clearly demonstrated. Although ASEAN countries have taken precautions against the “securitization” pillar and have not participated in any of China’s “civilization” projects thus far, there have still been no specific moves to counterbalance China in the “economicization” pillar, led by the consolidation of the ILSTC. ASEAN counties must increase coordination capacity, lest China be allowed to define the “common denominator” of maritime interests of the entire region.

bid China Chinas community Construct future Maritime Sea Shared.. South
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

‘Wait Them Out’: John Kennedy Tells Larry Kudlow One Lie He Suspects China’s Telling US

May 7, 2025

Trump’s Tariffs Trigger Turmoil In China As Country’s Economic Tailspin Intensifies Per New Data

May 6, 2025

American Manufacturers Overwhelmed With Orders After Trump’s Tariff Crackdown On China

May 5, 2025

83 Funny Graduation Quotes for Hilarious Humor and Stress Relief About Your Future

May 5, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: TSLA, AAPL, AZN

July 3, 2023

Ohio Town Takes Resident Questions On Derailment, Chemicals

February 15, 2023

FTC opens investigation into OpenAI over misleading statements

July 13, 2023

Vast Majority Of Americans Had Their Pocketbooks Devastated By Inflation In 2023, Study Finds

May 22, 2024
Don't Miss

Short and Funny Sayings for a Happy Summer with Friends

Lifestyle May 9, 2025

I love the beach. Just looking at the calming sea to relax. Having fun in…

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025
About
About

This is your World, Tech, Health, Entertainment and Sports website. We provide the latest breaking news straight from the News industry.

We're social. Connect with us:

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Categories
  • Business (4,110)
  • Entertainment (4,220)
  • Finance (3,202)
  • Health (1,938)
  • Lifestyle (1,627)
  • Politics (3,084)
  • Sports (4,036)
  • Tech (2,006)
  • Uncategorized (4)
  • World (3,944)
Our Picks

‘Collecting Dust:’ Car Dealerships Reporting Prolonged Shelf-Life For EVs

July 17, 2023

White House Rips Trump’s Tax Cut Push: ‘Welfare For Big Corporations’

September 11, 2023

Jewel’s Rendition of the National Anthem Divides Fans at Indy 500

May 30, 2023
Popular Posts

Short and Funny Sayings for a Happy Summer with Friends

May 9, 2025

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025
© 2025 Patriotnownews.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.