Maritime security has assumed great importance in recent years in view
of mankind’s increasing dependence on the seas.
Historically, countries sought to
boost their power by seeking to control the oceans. During the Cold War years,
rivalry between the two power blocs was also extended to the oceans when the US
and the Soviet Union tried to establish their supremacy. Though the Super Power
rivalry created an uneasy balance of power situation in the oceans, there was
at least a semblance of stability in the maintenance of sea lanes, freedom of
navigation and so on. The collapse of the Cold War structures removed the
earlier uneasy balance, but introduced a great deal of fluidity in the maritime
situation. From then on, non-military and non-traditional aspects of maritime
security came to be increasingly emphasised.
Two more developments soon
followed which had a great bearing on the maritime landscape in the
Asia-Pacific region. After gaining freedom, most countries of the region became
preoccupied with the tasks of economic reconstruction. In the initial years,
they adopted inward-looking economic strategies in their approaches to
nation-building. But after the end of the Cold War, there was a major shift in
their economic strategies and they began to adopt economic liberalisation
programmes based on free market economy. What followed was an unprecedented
surge in the economic activities across the seas covering the South and East
China Seas and the Indian Ocean.
Countries like China, Japan,
South Korea, the ASEAN nations and India have started the process of entering
into a wide network of free trade and economic partnership agreements and the
whole region is already witnessing massive flows of trade, technology and investment.
The consistently rising growth trajectories of these countries are predicated
on the steady energy supplies from the West Asian region. Any disturbance in
these supplies will have serious adverse impact on their economies. It is in
this context that they attach utmost importance to the safety of the sea lanes
that pass through Southeast Asia such as the Malacca Strait which alone
witnesses more than 60 thousand ships plying annually through the narrow choke
point.
The Strait provides a crucial link
between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. Japan, China, South Korea and
ASEAN countries depend upon West Asia for more than 70-75 per cent of their
energy needs. As their demands for energy grow in the coming years, the
pressure on the West Asian countries will also increase correspondingly. It is
therefore imperative for them to ensure peace and political stability in the
West Asian region and maintain the security of the sea lanes.
The second development relates to
the extensive changes in the maritime jurisdiction under the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which came into force in 1994. Countries, which had
earlier conducted their maritime activities without much concern for their
neighbours, have now come under many restrictions. The UNCLOS has recognized
the right of a country to claim: a) a twelve nautical mile territorial sea
measured from baseline; b) an additional twelve nautical mile contiguous zone
in which countries can punish violation of their customs, immigration, etc., laws
within their territory or territorial zone; c) a continental shelf to a maximum
of 350 nautical miles and d) an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending 200
nautical miles from baseline and in which countries have rights over resources
and all related activities as well as jurisdiction over artificial structures,
marine scientific research and protection of the marine environment. Many of
the present problems between countries arise from their interpretation of EEZ
boundaries, territorial claims to islands in South and East China Sea regions.
South China Sea
South China Sea region has become
a centre of great tension due to territorial disputes between China and several
ASEAN countries on Spratly and Paracel islands. During the 1990s, China pursued
its territorial claims in the region with great assertiveness and this created
a good deal of suspicion and distrust among ASEAN countries. After 2000,
however, China seemed to have mellowed a little and this resulted in the
signing of the Declaration on the conduct of parties in South China Sea in
2002. By this Declaration, China agreed to desist from using force, respect
freedom of navigation of other countries and stay away from taking over
unoccupied islands.
The improved atmospherics helped
China, Vietnam and the Philippines to undertake joint surveys of ocean
resources around the Spratly islands. Unfortunately, this trend proved to be
rather temporary and soon China reverted to its earlier assertive policies in
the region. In recent years, China has intensified its patrolling activities to
oversee its EEZ, protect its fishermen and observe the activities of the
foreign fishing boats. Further, there has been a marked increase in its naval
exercises in the area inviting strong protests from countries like Malaysia and
Indonesia. The People’s Liberation Army’s fleets have deployed warships to
South China Sea.
Both the US and China have also
exchanged strong protests against each other’s naval operations. In every
meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) since 2010, US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton has spoken strongly on the need for ensuring the freedom of
navigation in the South China Sea region. She has also urged both China and
ASEAN to work towards framing a code of conduct for the South China Sea. The
US, Japan and other allies have pressed China to make its territorial claims in
the South China Sea on the basis of international law and not on the basis of
historical events or threats. Clinton called upon both China and ASEAN
countries to work out a code of conduct consistent with international law.
The building of a new naval base
on the Hainan Island from where China can deploy most advanced missile
submarines and the launching of its aircraft carrier have further heightened
the concerns of ASEAN countries who would like to see American naval presence
in the region as a shield against the Chinese ’threat’. But China considers
American presence as an unwarranted interference and strongly prefers to deal
with the concerned ASEAN countries bilaterally. In this connection, it is
useful to note the proactive attitude of Japan on this question.
Although Japan does not have a
territorial issue in this region, the sea lanes of the region that carry 90 per
cent of Japan’s crude oil, are a key factor for its economy. Japan has offered
to cooperate with the coast guards of the ASEAN countries. It deserves to be
noted that Japan has agreed to provide several patrol boats to the Philippines
and improve its maritime surveillance capacity. In addition, Japan has also
agreed to promote defence relations with Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and
Indonesia. Japan is also keen to see that ASEAN countries remain cohesive and
approach their regional maritime issues collectively as a unit instead of
dealing with China individually. Further, Japan fears that if China succeeds in
establishing its sovereignty over some islands through bullying, it may adopt
the same tactics in its claim over the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China
Sea region. There is a strong convergence of strategic interests of the US,
Japan and ASEAN and how they will leverage it to bring China to the negotiating
table for a long-term understanding remains to be seen. Tokyo is also keen to
convene a special Japan-ASEAN meeting focused on maritime security in 2013.
East China Sea
In the previous article, we have
seen a report on how the territorial question on the Takeshima Islands has
strained relations between Japan and South Korea. With both countries sticking
stubbornly to their respective positions, there is very little prospect of any
movement towards a solution to the issue. Even before the political outcry
subsided in South Korea, Japan is now faced with a more complex territorial
issue with China and to a lesser extent with Taiwan. It relates to the Senkaku
Islands which are under the administrative control of Japan, but China and
Taiwan contest the Japanese sovereignty over the islands. The Senkaku chain
consists of five islands -Uotsurijima. Kita-Kojima, Minam-Kojima, Kubashima and
Taishoto located at the eastern edge of the East China Sea with a total area of
7 sq km. Clustered around the biggest island, Uotsuri, the islands chain lies
170 km northeast of Taiwan and 410 km west of Okinawa. There is no human
habitation in these islands.
Neither China nor Taiwan
seriously contested Japanese ownership of the islands until the 1970s when the
U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East came out with findings of
undersea oil, gas and other natural resources around the Senkaku Islands.
According to Japan, after 1885 onwards, the Government of Japan had made
regular surveys of the Islands through official agencies of the Okinawa
prefecture. These surveys testified that there was no human habitation in these
islands and that there was no indication of Chinese control over them at any
point. Whereas China traces its ownership of the islands to the fifteenth
century, Japan’s position is that the Senkakus did not belong to any country
when it formally incorporated the islands in January 1895. A private
entrepreneur set up a fisheries processing plant on Uotsurjima at the turn of
1900, and when the business failed, the islands were virtually deserted until
they were sold to Kunioki Kurihara of Saitama prefecture in the 1970s.
Following the defeat of Japan in the Second World War, the Senkakus came under
the control of the US administration as part of the US Civil Administration of
the Ryukyu Islands until 1972 when the Islands were reverted to Japan as part
of the Okinawa Prefecture.
Though China had always claimed
the Senkakus, it did not rake up a controversy as its leader Deng Xiaoping
cautioned that China’s economic development could take place unhindered only in
a peaceful neighbourhood. He also believed that a settlement to the dispute
could be best left to the next generation which would be wiser than the present
one. But the fact that both China and Japan had not fixed the borders of their
new EEZs in the East China Sea, created tension and led to mutual accusations
of violating each other’s maritime jurisdiction. Japan had deep suspicion that
China was illegally exploiting the ocean resources belonging to its EEZs. In
2008 they reached a temporary agreement which would have enabled them to work
out joint cooperation in exploiting the natural resources until a permanent
agreement was signed. But it was not put to successful operation due to lack of
domestic consensus in both countries. Since then China has increased its
maritime activities in the East China Sea contributing to serious deterioration
in the bilateral relations. The September 2010 incident in which a Chinese ship
collided with a Japanese coast guard vessel near the Senkaku islands caused a
major diplomatic row between the two countries. The arrest of a Chinese naval
captain by Japan added further fuel to the fire. Ultimately, the crisis
situation was defused by the release of the Chinese captain, but it left a deep
trail of bitterness in both countries.
More recently, in the middle of
September 2012, relations once again became more seriously strained following
the nationalization of the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese Government. China’s
reaction to this was seen in different forms. First, violent demonstrations all
across the country broke out attacking Japanese people and properties. Japanese
companies, plants and department stores were closed. China cancelled several
important events commemorating the fortieth year of their diplomatic relations.
Second, several Chinese nationalists from Hong Kong and the mainland forcibly
landed on the Senkaku islands and were removed by the Japanese navy. China sent
scores of its surveillance ships to the waters close to the Senkakus generating
heat and tension in the region. Relations between the two had never sunk so low
and some voices were heard in China on the need to ’regain’ the islands even by
force. In the midst of these developments the US has made it known that without
going into the merits of the dispute, it has a treaty obligation to stand by
Japan since the Senkaku Islands are under the Japanese effective control. China
does not agree with this stand. The official People’s Daily editorially stated
“The US-Japan Security Treaty is a by-product of the Cold War era and should
not damage the interests of third parties including China. Any nation that
seeks to interfere in the Daioyu islands issue will experience a loss of their
interest.”
Though the bilateral relations
have deteriorated to an extent not witnessed since normalisation, there is a
realization that both countries have to pay heavily for this. Their trade
volume amounting to about $350 billion will seriously suffer if the current
downward trend is not checked in time. So is the case with Japanese investment
in China. Already there are reports that Japanese investors are looking for
alternative options for their investments. Realising the implications, China
allowed a delegation of business, cultural and political groups led by former
speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives Yohei Kono to visit China and
they were met by a senior member of China’s powerful Politburo Standing
Committee. Though the talks between the two sides were marked by considerable
tension, there was an underlying hope that relations would improve in the
coming days.
K V Kesavan
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
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