China's Leadership Strategy Through Maritime Silk Road Influence on the South China Sea Dispute

Key Points

China's approach in the South China Sea emphasizes strategic dominance over historical claims, focusing on long-term goals.
Key findings indicate that the South China Sea is crucial for shipping and resources, driving China's assertive policies.
The study employs Alfred Thayer Mahan's maritime ideas and Lovell's foreign policy theories to explain China's strategies.
China's leadership strategy aligns its economic strength with regional diplomacy, seeking ASEAN cooperation while resisting legal challenges.

Abstract

This study analyzes the strategic motivations behind China's claims in the South China Sea (SCS), utilizing Alfred Thayer Mahan's maritime geopolitics and John P. Lovell's foreign policy theories. Through a qualitative explanatory approach, findings show the SCS holds immense strategic, economic, and geopolitical value due to its resources and critical shipping lanes. China demonstrates a firm commitment to its unilateral claims via militarization, artificial island construction, and economic diplomacy like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The analysis indicates China’s policy transcends historical or security drivers, aiming instead for long-term maritime dominance as a key instrument of national power. Its leadership strategy leverages economic strength and regional diplomacy to secure cooperation from ASEAN nations on its claims, while simultaneously avoiding international legal pressure.

China's Leadership Strategy Through Maritime Silk Road Influence on the South China Sea Dispute

Key Points

Abstract

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