Syllabus
1. Geography of the region and natural resources (5.10.2017)
Recommended reading: Bernard D. Cole, Sea Lanes and Pipelines: Energy Security in Asia (Westport CT: Praeger Security International, 2008), chapter: "Geography of the Region", 12-24. 2. The law of the seas - UNCLOS (12.10.2017)
Compulsory reading: Robert Beckman, "The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Maritime Disputes in the South China Sea", The American Journal of International Law 107:142, 2013, 142-163.
Recommended reading: Yann-huei Song & Stein Tønnesson, "The Impact of the Law of the Sea Convention on Conflict and Conflict Management in the South China Sea", Ocean Development & International Law 44:3, 2013, 235-269, 3. Security of sea lines of communication (SLOCs) (19.10.2017)
Compulsory reading: Bernard D. Cole, Sea Lanes and Pipelines: Energy Security in Asia (Westport CT: Praeger Security International, 2008), chapters 5 & 6 :"Getting the Oil: Ships at Sea" and "Threats to the Sea Lines of Communication", 73-94.
Recommended reading: Euan Graham, "Maritime Security and Threats to Energy Transportation in Southeast Asia", The RUSI Journal 160:2, 2015, 20-31. 4. Class cancelled (26.10.2017) 5. Territorial disputes - South China Sea, East China Sea, Sea of Japan (2.11.2017)
Compulsory reading 1: Masahiro Miyoshi, "China's 'U-Shaped Line' Claim in the South China Sea: Any Validity Under International Law?", Ocean Development & International Law 43:1, 2012, 1-17.
Compulsory reading 2: Ryoko Nakano, "The Sino-Japanese territorial dispute and threat perception in power transition", The Pacific Review, 16 March 2015, 1-22.
Recommended reading: Ramses Amer, "China, Vietnam, and the South China Sea: Disputes and Dispute Management", Ocean Development & International Law 45:1, 2014, 17-40. 6. Current and historical presence of the United States in the region (9.11.2017)
Compulsory reading: Andrew S.Erickson, Walter C. Ladwig III and Justin D. Mikolay, "Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy", Asian Security 6:3, 2010, 214-237.
Recommended reading: James R.Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara "China and the United States in the Indian Ocean", Naval War College Review 61:3, 2008, 41-60. 7. China' stakes - trade and energy security (16.11.2017)
Compulsory reading: Marc Lanteigne,"China’s Maritime Security and the 'Malacca Dilemma'", Asian Security 4:2, 2008, 143-161.
Recommended reading: Lou Chunhao, "US-India-China Relations in the Indian Ocean: A Chinese Perspective", Strategic Analysis 36:4, 2012, 624-639. 8. India's aspirations (23.11.2017)
Compulsory reading: Iskander Rehman, "India’s fitful quest for seapower", India Review, 16 (2), 2017: 226-265
Recommended reading 1: R.S. Vasan (2012) India's Maritime Core Interests, Strategic Analysis 36:3, 2012, 413-423.
Recommended reading 2: Vijay Sakhuja, (2013) "Security in the Maritime Commons: India’s Perspective" in Ashley J. Tellis and Sean Mirski (eds.) Crux of Asia: China, India, and the Emerging Global Order (Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2013), 155-164.
Recommended reading 3: Mohan Malik, "India Balances China", Asian Politics & Policy 4:3, 2012, 345-376. 9. Military spending and strategies of regional stakeholders (30.11.2017)
Compulsory reading: Kamlesh K Agnihotri, "Naval Power Dynamics in the Western Pacific Ocean: Impact on the Maritime Situation in East and South China Seas", Maritime Affairs: Journal of the National Maritime Foundation of India 9:2, 2013, 4-19.
Recommended reading 1: M. Taylor Fravel and Christopher P. Twomey, "Projecting Strategy: The Myth of Chinese Counter-intervention", The Washington Quarterly 37:4, 171-187.
Recommended reading 2: Shishir Upadhyaya, "Maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region: The role of the Indian Navy", Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs 6:4, 2014, 173-190. 10. Air-Sea Battle and the US "pivot" to Asia-Pacific (7.12.2017)
Compulsory reading: Matteo Dian, "The Pivot to Asia, Air-Sea Battle and contested commons in the Asia Pacific region", The Pacific Review 28:2, 2015, 237-257.
Recommended reading: Christian Le Mière, "America's Pivot to East Asia: The Naval Dimension", Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 54:3, 2012, 81-94. 11. ASEAN and multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific (14.12.2017)
Compulsory reading: Bernard D. Cole, Sea Lanes and Pipelines: Energy Security in Asia (Westport CT: Praeger Security International, 2008), chapter: "Maritime Security and Multilateralism in Asia", 159-178.
Recommended reading: Suisheng Zhao, "China's Approaches toward Regional Cooperation in East Asia: motivations and calculations", Journal of Contemporary China 20:68, 2011, 53-67. 12. Contemporary developments in the Artic area - parallels between South China Sea disputes (21.12.2017)
Compulsory reading: Ian G. Brosnan , Thomas M. Leschine & Edward L. Miles, "Cooperation or Conflict in a Changing Arctic?", Ocean Development & International Law 42:1-2, 2011, 173-210.
Recommended reading: Shiloh Rainwater, "China's Arctic Strategy And Its Implications," Naval War College Review 66:2, 2013, 62-82.
Annotation
The South China Sea is a significant source of fisheries and possibly in the near future also of natural resources such as oil and natural gas. Given the rapid development of new offshore drilling technologies, the region represents great strategic and, most notably, economic potential. However, territorial claims of regional stakeholders overlap and cause increasing friction as to who will have access to resources, which according to some sources, are as vast as those in the Middle East. The friction is augmented by the political and economic strength of China and other regional states, which in turn act more aggressively vis-a-vis any regional incidents and territorial claims of their counterparts. It is not only the natural resources that spur pressure in the region, but also the vital trade lanes (the sea lines of communication, SLOCs) that pass through the South China Sea. The SLOCs are of major importance to China, which practically depends on their safety for its export-oriented economy - the security of maritime trading lines is thus another strategic factor that incites Beijing to be assertive in defending its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Since China has a major stake in preserving the safety of SLOCs for the import of natural resources from Africa and the Middle East and the export of material goods, its maritime activities are expanding into the Indian Ocean, where they intersect with India, which aspires to a bold strategy of becoming the guarantor of the safety of SLOCs in the Indian Ocean and thereby views any Chinese activity in the region with anxiety. The United States, which still has the most powerful navy in the world and a traditionally strong presence both in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, serves as a counterweight to the claims and aspirations of regional states - claiming to be neutral in questions of territorial issues, Washington can potentially play the role of a balancer or stabilizer in the case of regional conflict.
Tensions in the maritime regions of Eastern, Southeastern and Southern Asia are undoubtedly growing and certain analysts identify the region as having a high potential for future conflict. The role of regional multilateral organizations may play an important role in the event of mitigating conflict. However, the most important part will be played by the three regional powers - United States, China and India - and the interplay of their interests.