The South China Sea

An empirical analysis of the global ocean's most contested maritime territory, the South China Sea and its agents of contest.

Introduction: a crucible of regional cooperation or conflict-making sovereignty claims? C. J. Jenner and Tran Truong Thuy; Part I. Global Dimensions: 1. The global significance of the South China Sea dispute Geoffrey Till; 2. Global issues and national interests in the South China Sea Rodolfo C. Severino; 3. The Obama administration's strategic rebalancing in Asia: from a diplomatic to a strategic constrainment of an emergent China? Renato Cruz De Castro; 4. The South China Sea and the 'Thucydides trap' Mark J. Valencia; Part II. Sub-National, National and Regional Interests: 5. Continuity and change in the South China Sea Alice Ba and Ian Storey; 6. Understanding the evolution of US-China-ASEAN relations: a US perspective Bonnie Glaser; 7. India and the South China Sea Vijay Sakhuja; 8. Domestic politics: the overlooked undercurrent in the South China Sea C. J. Jenner and Nguyen Hung Son; Part III. International Maritime Law: 9. The Tonkin Gulf Agreements: a model of conflict resolution? Stein Tønnesson; 10. UNCLOS and maritime security in the South China Sea Nguyen Thi Lan Anh; 11. Straight baselines around insular formations not constituting an archipelagic state Erik Franckx and Marco Benatar; 12. Disputed areas in the South China Sea: prospects for arbitration or advisory opinion Robert C. Beckman and Leonardo Bernard; Part IV. Towards Conflict or Cooperation: 13. China's naval modernisation and US strategic rebalancing: implications for stability in the South China Sea Carlyle A. Thayer; 14. Sino-American rivalry in the South China Sea: is it time to form a maritime middle power cooperative? C. J. Jenner and Sukjoon Yoon; 15. Regional cooperation in the South China Sea Jon M. Van Dyke; 16. Fishery disputes and regional cooperation Kuan-Hsiung Wang; Conclusion: history, strategy and the South China Sea C. J. Jenner; Index.