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  "authors": [
    "Ashley J. Tellis"
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Source: Getty

Other

Diplomatic Implications of the South China Sea on the Indo-Pacific Region

China’s actions in the South China Sea will likely have adverse consequences for the global maritime order. Such actions require a sustained and intentional response on the part of the United States.

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By Ashley J. Tellis
Published on Feb 1, 2018
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South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

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Source: Hudson Institute

Speaking at the Hudson Institute, Carnegie’s Ashley J. Tellis addressed the strategic and diplomatic implications of Chinese actions in the South China Sea. Arguing that China’s intention to enforce its ambiguous but expansive claims poses unmistakable danger to the existing international order, Tellis sketched out some of the possible long-term consequences, as well as possible U.S. responses.

Beyond the potential risk to freedom of navigation in the region and economic disadvantages for neighboring countries with conflicting claims in the South China Sea, China’s actions strengthen the shift toward progressively greater “national enclosure” of open international waterways, Tellis warned. He added that, if left unchecked, Chinese militarization would disturb the local military balances and force the United States to commit more resources to the region in order to fulfill its obligations to its local friends and allies.

Tellis called for a coordinated campaign to increase pressure on China through multilateral institutions and other international maritime functional organizations. Sanctions could be applied to specific, Chinese state-owned enterprises engaged in illegal construction in the region, he added. He argued that a regime of routine freedom of navigation operations should be maintained, and a coalition of like-minded nations in Southeast Asia should be assisted to develop their surveillance capacities as well as their naval and air power deterrents.

This talk was originally given at the Hudson Institute.

About the Author

Ashley J. Tellis

Former Senior Fellow

Ashley J. Tellis was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Multipolar Dreams, Bipolar Realities: India’s Great Power Future

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  • Commentary
    India Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Global Turbulence. That Could Backfire.

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Ashley J. Tellis
Former Senior Fellow
EconomyTradeSecurityMilitaryForeign PolicyGlobal GovernanceSouth AsiaEast AsiaChinaSoutheast Asia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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