USAHEC: Indo-Pacific: Maritime and Territorial Disputes

China’s Maritime Ambitions in the First Island Chain and Beyond

Defusing the South China Sea Disputes: A Regional Blueprint

Defusing the South China Sea Disputes: A Regional Blueprint by Gregory B. Poling, et al.

Ninth Annual South China Sea Conference

Center for Strategic & International Studies Conference. July 24, 2019, streaming video, 2:35:41. “This full-day conference will provide opportunities for in-depth discussion and analysis of developments in the South China Sea over the past year and potential paths forward. Panels will address the state of play in the South China Sea, the history and historiography of disputes in the South China Sea, pathways for dispute management, and the global stakes related to the South China Sea. • State of Play in the South China Sea • How Did We Get Here? History and Historiography • Pathways for Dispute Management • Global Stakes”

Asian Waters: The Struggle Over the South China Sea and the Strategy of Chinese Expansion

Maritime Security Dialogue: Shifting to the High-End Fight

Murky Waters: Maritime Security in the East and South China Seas

The Modern Origins of China's South China Sea Claim

A Net Assessment of China's Naval Power 2005-2030

China's Maritime Militias in the South China Sea

Need Additional Help?

Find Your Answer
See USAHEC's Frequently Asked Questions. USAWC patrons can submit new questions here.

South China Sea

“Beyond the Arbitral Ruling: A Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment in the South China Sea”
Valdez, Amiel Ian.
Asian Journal of International Law 9, no. 2 (July 2019): 251-274.

Building a Common Cause in the South China Sea by Michael F. Arnone
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2017)
Strategy Research Project.

“Cautious Bully: Reputation, Resolve, and Beijing’s Use of Coercion in the South China Sea”
Brands, Hal, and Zack Cooper.
International Security 44, no. 1 (Summer 2019): 117-159.
“China's Assertive Posture in Reinforcing its Territorial and Sovereignty Claims in the South China Sea: An Insight into Malaysia's Stance”
Ahmad, Mohammad Zaki, Mohd Sani, and Mohd Azizuddin.
Japanese Journal of Political Science 18, no. 1 (March 2017): 67-105.
“China's Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea: A Prologue from Past to Present”
Askari, Muhammad Usman.
Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan 56, no. 1 (June 2019): 101-107.
“The Dao of Foreign Policy: Understanding China’s Dual Strategy in the South China Sea”
Rosyidin, Mohamad.
Contemporary Security Policy 40, no. 2 (April 2019): 214-238.

The Dilemma of China’s Strategy in the Western Pacific by Brett W Holdiman
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2018)
Strategy Research Project.

“Drawing the U-Shaped Line: China’s Claim in the South China Sea, 1946–1974”
Chung, Chris P. C.
Modern China 46, no. 1 (January 2016): 38–72.
“Due Diligence and Overlooked Evidence in the South China Sea Arbitration: A Note”
Guo, Jianping, and Peng Wang.
Ocean Development & International Law 50, no. 2-3 (2019): 235-242.
“Gauging the South China Sea: Route Books (genglubu) since 1974”
Kurz, Johannes L.
China Quarterly (April 4, 2019): 1-9.
“‘Getting Serious about Strategy in the South China Sea’: What Analysis Is Required to Compel a New U.S. Strategy in the South China Sea?”
Stashwick, Steven.
Naval War College Review 71, no. 4 (Autumn 2018): 131-136.
[Response to: Brands, Hal, and Zack Cooper. “Getting Serious About Strategy in the South China Sea.” Naval War College Review 71, no. 1 (Winter 2018): 13-32.]

Great Powers, Grand Strategies: The New Game in the South China Sea by Anders Corr (Ed.)
Call Number: Root Hall VA630 .G74 2018
(Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2018)

Illuminating the South China Sea’s Dark Fishing Fleets
Poling, Gregory B. (Washington: DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2019)
“Unseen fishing activity. Maritime militias in the Spratlys. Fishers have often been overlooked in the South China Sea disputes. CSIS, in cooperation with Vulcan, Inc., unveils a worrying narrative about the impact fishers and their fleets have in the region.”
“Investigating the Evaluative Language in Philippine and Chinese News Reports on the South China Sea Disputes”
Ballesteros-Lintao, Rachelle.
Advances in Language and Literary Studies 9, no. 6 (2018): 66-77.
“Jawing through Crises: Chinese and Vietnamese Media Strategies in the South China Sea”
Wang, Frances Yaping.
Journal of Contemporary China 28, no. 119 (September 2019): 712-728.
“Judicial Fact-Finding Initiatives in the South China Sea Arbitration”
F. Espenilla, Jacqueline Joyce.
Asian Journal of International Law 9, no. 1 (January 2019): 20-30.

Maritime Security in the South China Sea by Keyuan Zou and Shicun Wu, eds.
Call Number: Root Hall VK113.S66 W8 2009
(Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009)
Military Power in the South China Sea: Opportunities and Risks by David Kissling
Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2014)
Strategy Research Project.

“The Modern Origins of China’s South China Sea Claims: Maps, Misunderstandings, and the Maritime Geobody”
Hayton, Bill.
Modern China 45, no. 2 (March 2019):127–170.

Protecting United States Interests in the South China Sea by David G. Ray
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2014)
Strategy Research Project.
Role of Fisheries Enforcement in the U.S. Asia-Pacific Rebalance by Gregory H. Magee, Jr.
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2014)
Strategy Research Project.
South China Sea by Christopher L. Daniels
Call Number: Root Hall JZ3691.S68 D36 2014
(Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2014)
The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia by Bill Hayton
Call Number: Root Hall DS525.8 .H39 2014
(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014)
South China Sea Disputes: Achieving Peaceful Resolutions through Cooperation by Ahmad Nasir Abd Rahman
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2017)
Strategy Research Project.
The Spartly Islands and U.S. Interests and Approaches by Clarence J. Bouchat
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College Press, 2013)
Strategic Peace in the South China Sea by Esther J. C. Aguigui
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2017)
Strategy Research Project.

“Strategic Selection: Philippine Arbitration in the South China Sea Dispute”
Wiegand, Krista E., and Erik Beuck.
Asian Security (2018): 1-16.

Transparent Sea: Managing Cooperation in the South China Sea by Rory A. Crooks
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2016)
Strategy Research Project

“Understanding China’s Goals and Strategy in the South China Sea: Bringing Context to a Revisionist Systemic Challenge – Intentions and Impact”
Tkacik, Michael.
Defense and Security Analysis 42, no. 4 (2018): 321-344.
“Understanding Power (Shift) in East Asia: The Sino-US Narrative Battle about Leadership in the South China Sea"
Weissmann, Mikael.
Asian Perspective 43, no. 2 (Spring 2019): 223-248.

United States and China Relations in the South China Sea by Sherri LeVan
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2016)
Strategy Research Project.
U. S. Landpower in the South China Sea by Clarence Bouchat
ISBN: 158487760X
(Carlisle Barracks, PA : Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, 2017)
A U.S.-Philippine Policy Option for the South China Sea by Joe Daniels Bookard
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2014)
Strategy Research Project.
A U.S. Strategy to Counter China’s Airpower Modernization by David S. Eaglin
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2014)

“When Strategy is ‘Hybrid’ and not ‘Grey’: Reviewing Chinese Military and Contabulary Coercision at Sea”
Patalano, Alessio.
Pacific Review 31, no. 6 (November 2018): 811-839.
“Whose ‘Freedom of Navigation’? Australia, China, the United States and the Making of Order in the ‘Indo-Pacific’”
Wirth, Christian.
Pacific Review 32, no. 4 (July 2019): 475-504.

East China Sea

“Escalation at Sea: Stability and Instability in Maritime East Asia"
Bowers, Ian.
Naval War College Review 71, no. 4 (Autumn 2018): 45-65.
“The Expansion of and Changes to the National Coast Guards in East Asia”
Kim, Suk Kyoon.
Ocean Development & International Law 49, no. 4 (2019): 313-334.
“History and Territorial Disputes, Domestic Politics, and International Relations: An Analysis of the Relationship among South Korea, China, and Japan”
Hahm, Sung Deuk, and Uk Heo.
Korea Observer 50, no. 1 (Spring 2019): 53-80.
“Japanese Diplomacy and the ‘Improvement’ in Sino-Japanese Relations”
Kawashima, Shin.
Asia Policy 14, no. 1 (January 2019): 156-160.
“More Significance than Value: Explaining Developments in the Sino-Japanese Contest Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands”
Hall, Todd.
Texas National Security Review 2, no. 4 (September 2019).
“Origins of a ‘Ragged Edge’: U.S. Ambiguity on the Senkakus' Sovereignty”
Watts, Robert C, IV.
Naval War College Review 72, no. 3 (Summer 2019): 101-138.
“The Political and Economic Consequences of Nationalist Protest in China: The 2012 Anti-Japanese Demonstrations”
Foley, Kevin, Jeremy L. Wallace, and Jessica Chen Weiss.
China Quarterly 236 (December 2018): 1131-1153.
“Popular Culture and Politics: Re-narrating the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute”
Ling, L. H. M., and Mari Nakamura.
Cambridge Review of International Affairs 32, no. 4 (August 2019): 541-558.
“Think Territory Politically: The Making and Escalation of Beijing’s Commitment to Sovereignize Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands”
Xiaolin, Duan.
Pacific Review 32, no. 3 (May 2019): 419-445.
“U.S. Conventional Access Strategy: Denying China a Conventional First-Strike Capability”
Goldsmith, Sam.
Naval War College Review 72, no. 2 (Spring 2019): 35-65.