The economic and security implications of China’s activities in the South China Sea

Abstract

China has been conducting seismic surveys in areas of the South China Sea claimed by other countries – including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – while issuing threats to prevent many of these countries from conducting their own resource exploration. In behaving this way, China may be pursuing economic or strategic goals, or some combination of the two. While China’s behaviour is damaging the country’s relations with its maritime neighbours in Southeast Asia, Beijing has suffered no real costs as a result and will probably continue asserting its interests within its vaguely defined ‘nine-dash’ or ‘U-shaped’ line, which encompasses nearly all of the South China Sea.