{"id":82967,"date":"2023-10-17T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T19:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=82967"},"modified":"2023-10-16T19:15:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T08:15:20","slug":"australia-and-its-partners-need-to-make-their-presence-known-in-the-south-china-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-and-its-partners-need-to-make-their-presence-known-in-the-south-china-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia and its partners need to make their presence known in the South China Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In August, Washington and Manila announced their intention to begin conducting joint maritime patrols<\/a> before the end of the year around the West Philippine Sea\u2014the Philippines\u2019 official name for the parts of the South China Sea that are within its exclusive economic zone. A few weeks later, Australia and the Philippines made a similar announcement<\/a>. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said the decision marked \u2018a watershed moment for relations between Australia and the Philippines\u2019.<\/p>\n

Beijing has been gradually increasing its hostile behaviour towards Filipino and Vietnamese vessels in the contested waters<\/a>. In August, the Philippines published a video showing<\/a> a China Coast Guard vessel firing a water cannon at several Philippine Coast Guard ships conducting a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal in the Spratly Islands.<\/p>\n

The incident, along with many others over recent years, offers insights into China\u2019s hybrid tactics in the region. But more importantly, it\u2019s a call to Manila and its allies to strengthen their deterrence posture and face Beijing\u2019s assertiveness.<\/p>\n

The patrol announcements represent a positive step in responding to China\u2019s aggression in the South China Sea. It\u2019s important for Australia to increase its presence in this way in a region it defined as \u2018the most important geostrategic region in the world\u2019 in its 2023 defence strategic review<\/a>. Notably, Japan and Vietnam\u2014two of China\u2019s closest neighbours\u2014have also announced plans to increase their presence in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

Tokyo has been keen to support Manila in its efforts against the China Coast Guard and China\u2019s maritime militia<\/a>. Japan recently provided a grant<\/a> for a satellite communications system to be installed onboard the Philippine Coast Guard\u2019s multi-role response vessels, enhancing their maritime domain awareness capabilities.<\/p>\n

Japan has embarked on a major program to modernise its naval capabilities with a staggering increase in its defence budget as part of its \u2018strengthening [of] the defense architecture in the southwestern region\u2019. This will also include<\/a> equipping Japanese air and ground defence forces along the Ryukyu Islands with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile units to form a stronger defensive barrier to Japan\u2019s south.<\/p>\n

Positioned on the front line<\/a> of China\u2019s growing ambitions in the South China Sea, Vietnam will also have an important role to play. Hanoi has regularly expressed concerns over Beijing\u2019s behaviour in the region and the potential consequences<\/a>, and the defence cooperation agreement it recently signed with the US could have a strong impact on the region\u2019s security dynamics and support a more assertive role for Vietnam and its allies.<\/p>\n

All these countries, including Australia, must strengthen their presence in the South China Sea to defend the international norms enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Beijing is undermining with its claims. As the late Australian Rear Admiral James Goldrick argued<\/a>, \u2018to accept China\u2019s claims \u2026 acquiesces to Chinese coercion through the use of armed force\u2019. The war in Ukraine is a compelling example of what could happen if these claims aren\u2019t properly contested by China\u2019s neighbours.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, presence (with ships and sailors) is the decisive element for success in any maritime competition. As US naval strategists J.C. Wylie and James Holmes put it: \u2018The ultimate determinant in war is the man on the scene with a gun<\/a>.\u2019 If allies don\u2019t maintain a presence in the region, China\u2019s home-ground advantage will remain unchallenged.<\/p>\n

Following Rear Admiral Wylie, Professor Holmes claimed<\/a>: \u2018You must be on the scene to control something. Or you have to leave no doubt in the minds of important audiences \u2026 that you will inevitably show up to take control should the antagonist buck your will.\u2019 The determination shown by Japan, Vietnam and others is a good starting point in the quest to mount a credible deterrent posture, but building a more cohesive coalition must be the next step. As Goldrick argued<\/a>, \u2018Australia must be there for the long haul \u2026 Making an effective case for the South China Sea not to become a \u201cclosed sea\u201d is fundamental.\u2019<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s defence strategic review says that \u2018deterrence is about compelling an actor to defer or abandon a planned strategy or activity by having in place steps and responses to change its risk assessment and, therefore, decision-making\u2019. Now Canberra, Manila and the rest of their allies must live by this and show up in the contested regions. They must be there to deter Chinese aggression, making the point that Beijing won\u2019t succeed in its quest to claim the South China Sea for itself. And they must remain there with determination, for as long as it takes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In August, Washington and Manila announced their intention to begin conducting joint maritime patrols before the end of the year around the West Philippine Sea\u2014the Philippines\u2019 official name for the parts of the South China …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1833,"featured_media":82969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,52,135,370,471,540],"class_list":["post-82967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australia","tag-china","tag-japan","tag-philippines","tag-south-china-sea","tag-vietnam"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia and its partners need to make their presence known in the South China Sea | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-and-its-partners-need-to-make-their-presence-known-in-the-south-china-sea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia and its partners need to make their presence known in the South China Sea | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In August, Washington and Manila announced their intention to begin conducting joint maritime patrols before the end of the year around the West Philippine Sea\u2014the Philippines\u2019 official name for the parts of the South China ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-and-its-partners-need-to-make-their-presence-known-in-the-south-china-sea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-16T19:00:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-16T08:15:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1685670673.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gonzalo V\u00e1zquez Orbaiceta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gonzalo V\u00e1zquez Orbaiceta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australia-and-its-partners-need-to-make-their-presence-known-in-the-south-china-sea\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1685670673.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1685670673.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683,\"caption\":\"This photo taken on September 22, 2023 shows Chinese coast guard personnel taking photos after their vessel blocked a Philippine ship approaching the Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. 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