A Study On The U.S. Policy History In The South China Sea

Since the United States involved in the South China Sea,the South China Sea issue was being integrated into more and more American factors.Today,the world's only superpower America stronglyand deeply involves in the South China Sea issue,which brings a profound influence to the development of the South China Sea issue.The United States has become the most comprehensive and decisive external factors that effects the South China Sea issue.The South China Sea issue has become the core issue in Sino US relations.Why?This paper hopes to find out the answer from the historyThis paper systematically discourses the U.S.policy in the South China Sea from 1950 to 2015,which includes the following main contentsThe first chapter is the historical review of the relationship between the United States and the South China Sea before 1950.This chapter reviews the relationship between the United States and the South China Sea before 1950 from three aspects that the United States naval forces arrived in the South China Sea,the United States defined Philippine's territory and the United States coveted the South China Sea's geo strategic value.Finally this chapter draws the conclusion:the relations between the United States and the South China Sea before 1950 is the origin of America's containment policy toward China after 1950.The second chapter is the U.S.policy on the South China Sea from 1950 to 1970.During this period the United States led to enact "Treaty of Peace with Japan",and publicly rejected China's sovereignty in the South China Sea,and around the South China Sea built military alliance to contain China,and direct violated China's sovereignty in the South China Sea,and turned a deaf ear to China's hundreds of protests,and indulged Philippines or Vietnamor Malaysia's invasion in the South China Sea.This chapter finally draws the conclusion:the United States created "anti Communist breakwater" in the South China Sea to contain Communist expansion toward Southeast Asia.The third chapter is the U.S.policy in the South China Sea from 1971 to 1991.During the period America and China is a quasi ally against the common Soviet hegemony which changes thr U.S.overbearing policy to china in the South China Sea.The United States adopted a "neutral" policy on the South China Sea sovereignty dispute in 1974's Xisha Sea War and 1988's Johnson South Reef Sea War.Even so,the United States guarded against China in the actual action.The United States particularly attached importance to the strategic value of the South China Sea against China In the South China Sea.Because most of the South China Sea belongs to China,the United States contained China more than the Soviet Union.The U.S.policy on the South China Sea of both external neutrality and internal precaution was gradually changed from 1989 to 1991.The United States especially hoped that peaceful evolution succeeded in China,but it failed to arouse America to attack China's socialist system at once,and announce sanctions against China.The United States readopted th policy of containing China.This chapter finally draws the conclusion:whether it is the "hidden containment" or "the dominant containment" policy in the United States,the ideological factors have always been around the South China Sea Policy of this period.The fourth chapter is the Clinton administration's South China Sea policy.The Clinton government under the banner of the anti-Communist and anti-China on the one hand still stubbornly clinged to the cold war thinking and attacked China human rights,on the other hand bewaried of China's rise agaist American hegemony.Because China's economic strength,military strength and political influence continue to expand,the Clinton administration aggravated to contain China.The focus of this containment was also transferred from preventing China's ideology to guarding against China's rise Moreover,after the cold war,the economic value,political value and military value of the South China Sea provided the conditions for the United States to contain China.The United States acts the South China Sea as an important battlefield to contain China.As a result,the United States has changed the past no standpoint on the South China Sea sovereignty dispute to be partial to Vietnam and Philippines'South China Sea claims This chapter finally draws the conclusion:from the beginning of the Clinton administration,the U.S.containment policy in the South China Sea shifted to curb China's rise.The fifth chapter is George W.Bush's policy for the South China Sea.During this period,although the focus of American foreign policy was against terrorism,but the United States policy toward China still seek to contain China by the South China Sea issue.With the difference from the Clinton administration,the George W.Bush government didn't involve in territorial disputes in the South China Sea,but focoused on contain China by the South China Sea geostrategic value.For example,the U.S.advocated the South China Sea' freedom of navigation and overflight rights,and strengthen the US-Philippine alliance,and support Philippines's military development,and signed a bilateral military agreement,and frequently held bilateral and multilateral military exercises,and strengthen relations with Vietnam to support Vietnam's military development,and involved in the South China Sea resources development,and constructed the South China Sea Security Cooperation Mechanism and strengthened the military deployed around the South China Sea,and so on.This chapter finally draws the conclusion:the George W.Bush administration policy on the South China Sea is to curb China's riseThe sixth chapter is the Obama administration's policy for the South China Sea.During this period,the depth and breadth of the U.S.intervention in the South China Sea issue are greatly enhanced..The United States put forward "Asia Pacific rebalancing strategy",which directed at China.Affected by this,the United States strengthened military deployment in the South China Sea,and consolidate and expand the" military frontier existence";and increased military aid to Philippines and Vietnam to favour its sovereignty claim in the South China Sea,and actively promote the sovereignty legalization to deny China's the sovereignty in the South China Sea,and actively draw ASEAN and external powers to intervene in the South China Sea,and form a Alliance containing China,and strengthen the "freedom of navigation" to direct challenge China;s South China Sea sovereignty.The reason that the Obama administration deeply involved in the South China Sea dispute is that it doesn't believe China's new pattern of relationship between great powers,and think China's rise is not peaceful.The United States also thinks the South China Sea dispute is the best fulcrum to implement "offset strategy" toward China.This chapter draws the final conclusion;the Obama administration's South China Sea policy has increased the containment to China's rise.On the U.S.policy history in the South China Sea from 1950 to 2015,we can draw the following experience:the U.S.policy in the South China Sea changes with the increase of the value of the South China Sea geopolitical strategy;containing China is a thread which runs through the U.S.policy history in the South China Sea;the U.S.shifted its focus from "ideology" to "Chinese rise";containing China is a important driving force that intensified the South China Sea issue;containing China influenced on the relationship between China and other countries.