5.b. Oceans are important spaces where countries challenge each other

Question 1

China- technological advancements

Answer 1

technological advancements and economic growth combined with China having the 10th largest coastaline has placed it firmly amongst the strongest naval power, bolstering the largest fleet on earth, with 777 warships and submarines in operatio

Question 2

China- agressive foreign policy

Answer 2

although this navy is not as high quality as naval powers like the USA, the sheer quanitity of ships allow China to pursue an agressive foreign policy concerning the oceans. Takes up a ‘fleet in being’ and exerting influence on many different regions

Question 3

China- India and the Indian Ocean

Answer 3

• one region of conern is the Indian Ocean as it is the next regional power and India is China’s closest rival
• India is constantly having to deal with China’s navy and the potential threats of its influences (mainly Pakistan- Indias other rival- as it has received excessive funding into ports to facilitate Chinese ships). This has undermined India’s sphere of influence in the region and has served to assert China’s strategic commerical interests in the Indian Ocean, and Asia+Africa

Question 4

South China Sea- interaction with other countries

Answer 4

• this region is greatly disputed, due in large part to China claiming a vast area of it
• China’s (and Taiwan’s) claimes extent south past the Phillipines and Vietnam, reaching as far south as just offshore of Borneo, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia occupy
• all countries with strategic interests disagree on the ownership of the sea, however China’s position as a superpower greatly dwarfs all other countries ability to extert political or military foce, making the sea and resources/islands de facto Chinese

Question 5

South China Sea- economic interests

Answer 5

economic interests in the region include resource exploitation of oil and gas, as well as the sea providing important trade routes

Question 6

South China Sea- strategic interests

Answer 6

• the USA has strategic interests in the region (worth $1.2 trillion to them), safeguarding Taiwan and South Korea as well as positioning a naval group in Japan to protect its interests
• depsite the presence of many different military forces across the South China Sea, actual confontation is unlikely and is rather used as a deterrent for any further agressive expansion from either side

Question 7

South China Sea- Recent indidents

Answer 7

-1974 and 1988 armed clashes betweeen China and Vietnam
-2012 China and the Phillippinws clash over the Scarborough Shoal
-2012 China formally creats Sansha City in the Paracels
-2014 China sets up a drilling rig near to the Pacacels; collisions occur between China and Vietnam
-2015 US satellite shows China buildling infrastructure on some of the Spratly Islands
Pacracles and Spratlys reserve oil and gas and trade routes to China

Question 8

South China Sea- Recent indidents include