Conflict Of Interest - China And Neighbours In South China Sea

China has a long history of border disputes with its neighbours. The South China Sea is the new zone of conflict of interest which is bound to impact the economy of the world. The South China Sea is considered a jugular vein of the world economy. as 40% of economic transportation were going through the region. China claims most of the water area of the South China Sea, which cause for concern for its small neighbours, as these nations are minnows comparing to mighty China, the third-largest military power in the world. Chinese boisterous claims on the South China Sea antagonized Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei. The powerful economy like Japan, South Korea also feel threatened by the predominance of China in this crucial region. The South China Sea is enriched by oil and natural gas. China introduced a new method to enhance its influence on this region by increasing the size of the island or creating a new artificial island. China also started close vigilance over reconnaissance flights of foreign nations. According to the Chinese regime, no other foreign nations have any right to conduct any reconnaissance flights on this Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which was opposed by countries like the USA, UK, India, Japan. United Nations Law Of Sea promotes no hold barred movement of the sea. US and Japan tried their label best to ward off growing Chinese influence on this disputed water territory. In recent times Japan tried to boost the naval strength of Vietnam and the Philippines to counter Chinese hegemony. China did not accept the verdict of UNCLOS which went on in favour of the Philippines. This incident blunt the claws of international law. The South China Sea plays an important role in the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region. Japan and South Korea's economy predominantly depend on the South China Sea for the supply of fuels and export of freight. South Chian Sea is a gargantuan reservoir of untapped oil, natural gas and one of the biggest fishing zone in the world.

Conflict of Interest - China v/s the Philippines

Chinese authority claims sovereignty over the South China Sea and claims that the water area is part of the old Chinese empire. The Philippines claims that China interferes with its sovereign rights by stopping vessels and fishing boats of Philipinos from hovering over its water territory. This is a complete violation of UNCLOS's jurisdiction. Chinese and Philippines embassy involved in talks-tag-of-war over the fleeting presence of 200 Chinese ships over the Western reefs. On the other hand Chinese embassy claims that Whitsun Reef belongs to the Chinese sovereignty. The Philippines administration is scarred that the  Chinese regime will take control of Whitsun reefs like Mischief Reef and Scarborough Shoal. This has compelled the Philippines president Duterte to recuperate the military ties with the US.

Conflict of Interest - China v/s Japan

In recent times Japan allied with other nations in the South China Sea to withstand China for free the navigation of other nations. In various international conventions, Japan has denounced the Chinese hegemonic attitude on this region and tried to strengthen the naval power of the minnows like Vietnam and the Philippines in their effort to block Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Japan has a conflict of interest with China related to the Senkaku Island, which is under the control of the Japanese naval force. Senkaku island is located in the East China Sea and Japan took all the steps to keep the island under its stride. China tried to overwhelm the Japanese presence in Senkaku island by conducting reconnaissance by various warships. Japan was supported by other powerful nations like France, Germany, UK. The numero uno superpower US always stand behind Japan to corner the Chinese authoritative regimes and its over-arching claims on various islands in the South China Sea.

Conflict of Interest - China v/s US

USA and China are the two most powerful countries of the world, vying for dominance in the South China Sea to keep their economic superiority intact. The conflict of interest is quite evident. The US believes in the laisse fair of ship movement of different countries in the South China Sea, which goes against the Chinese hegemony. Now India started to show interest in this quagmire and invited Australia, Japan, the USA for naval exercise in Malabar. The Chinese embassy in India protest against sudden diversion from earlier stands to remain neutral in South China Sea broil. For both countries, the South China Sea is too significant. No one wants to lose control over the South China Sea.  China threatened to occupy Taiwan, a small nation with a meagre population of 25 million exists on of Communist Republic of China.  For the Communist regime of China, Taiwan is part of mainland China.  During 1970-2000 the US also supported the above-mentioned view of the Chinese regime. Recently the US started to export modern arms and weapons to Taiwan to boost the later defence, which irked the Chinese regime.  The US also developed close cooperation with the Philippines in the field of defence.  The US stationed two of its aircraft carriers Nimitz and Ronald Raegan in the South China Sea to deter the growing influence of the Chinese navy.  The US keep a close watch on the East China Sea to safeguard the interest of its close ally Japan.  China fortified islands occupied by its navy for overwhelming dominance on the contentious South China Sea. Recently the US, Japan and India conducted naval exercises around the Malabar ports.  US constructed QUAD, a non-military alliance of US, India, Japan and Australia to annul the growing influence of China in the South China Sea.

The Conflict of Interest in South China Sea & QUAD

The four permanent members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) in the US, India, Japan and Australia. The main purpose of the QUAD is to counter Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. This is the inception of the cold war between QUAD members and China. The conflict of interest is quite evident. QUAD want to maintain their dominance on the economically important zone the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region. Some Western commentators tagged the QUAD as Asian NATO, which is erroneous. The QUAD is an organization of four like-minded partners and their prime goal is to tame the ever-increasing Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. India became a party to the game due to its longstanding border conflict with China and later increasing incursion into the Indian Ocean, to curb the influence of India. The QUAD is a non-military organization but it stressed the need for regular naval exercise on the Malabar straits and the South China Sea to undermine the growing influence of China. The group members also agreed to share intelligence and logistics to prepare for any kind of contingency situation. The members are tried to increase the periphery of the QUAD group, by the inclusion of few other nations i.e. France, UK, New Zealand, Canada etc. The broadened QUAD will be known as QUAD Plus. The next target is to diminish China's role as a world supply chain and purge the area from Chinese dominance. In recent times India had shown the world how to counter the veiled threat of China and forced the PLA to withdraw itself from Ladakh.