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

The South China Sea, the communication of the Indian Ocean with the PacificOcean, with six channels, is an important sea lanes and connecting hubs in Europe,Asia, Africa and Oceania. South China Sea is the world’s second channel in additionto the Mediterranean fairway. The islands of the South China Sea are China’s inherentterritory since ancient times. China enjoys indisputable sovereignty over the SouthChina Sea, and it would have been an indisputable fact in the international community.But with "Emory Report" released, the conclusion that the South China Sea has richoil and gas resources is confirmed. The countries surrounding the South China Seahave started to seize the South China Sea islands and reefs. Although the Chinesegovernment repeatedly expresses opposition to these acts, the countries surroundingthe South China Sea have not stopped seizing to the South China Sea islands and reefsbelonging to China for facing huge economic and strategic interests. In order to proveits legitimacy, these countries are finding all kinds of excuses and creating provisionallegal provisions.After the introduction of "United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea", the countries surrounding the South China Sea are finding the so-called legalbasis by quoting out of context to occupy the South China Sea islands and reefslegally.Philippines, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries lead to theinvolvement of major powers outside the region by all means to resist China. This notonly makes the handling of the South China Sea dispute more complicated, but alsoChina into a passive situation. In these major powers outside this area, America’sattention to the South China Sea is the highest and the influence is deepest. America’spolicy on South China Sea can be divided into three stages. The policy is dominatedby national interests of the United States fundamentally. After the Cold War, theUnited States became the only superpower on the world stage and America’s maincompetitor is China instead of Soviet Union. With China’s development, United Statesprevents it to maintain its hegemony and consolidate its superpower situation. Facingwith the rise of such a country whose ideology and national system are completelydifferent, U.S. believes China’s development poses a threat to its global hegemony.Therefore, U.S. shifted the central global strategic to Asian-Pacific region. The UnitedStates draw ASEAN over to its side by all means like joint military exercises toEncircle China. U.S. attempts to blockade China within the "first island chain" and compress strategic development space of China.The South China Sea disputebecomes one of time bombs as U.S. attempt to contain China like the North Koreannuclear issue. With the support of the United States, the ASEAN countries challengethe sovereignty of China frequently. U.S. attempts to internationalize the South ChinaSea, which makes China recover it more difficult. The South China Sea disputebecomes another friction point between the United States and China.On the world stage nowadays, the country should give priority to the oceanbesides the land, with increasingly fierce ocean competition. A country’s security notonly includes the territorial security, but also the ocean security. With Marine Powerstrategy proposed during18th Party Congress of China, the South China Sea hasbecome an important part of our national interests. Based on the above considerations,this paper reviews the evolution, causes and analyzes of American policy on the SouthChina Sea in addition to the impact of U.S. policy on the South China Sea.Accordingly, we predict the trend of U.S. policy on the South China Sea. Finally, thispaper proposes what china should do, which provides a reference for solving theSouth China Sea issue.