Clash of the Titans: The Future of Competing Spheres of Influence in the South China Sea

Abstract

As the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War reached an end, the West refocused its attention from East Asia’s susceptibilities to strengthening a unified Europe and addressing crises in the Middle East. Newly freed from its precarious tango with the competing USSR and USA interests, China used the following two decades to consolidate its home front and increase its role in discussion surrounding its borders and the oft- disputed resources they hold. With Europe unified – if struggling – and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan nearing their final stages, the United States has reinvigorated its efforts to focus on the Asian-Pacific region. This analysis discusses the role of the South China Sea, as the pre-eminent flashpoint for the Asian-Pacific region, in the twenty-first century relationship between China and the US. It assesses the claims that China is the next superpower and addresses the possibility of conflict in the South China Sea as the American and Chinese political and economic spheres directly compete, for the first time since the end of the Cold War. With one half of the world’s shipping trade and one sixth of the world’s oil traversing the South China Sea, and with the contentious Taiwan a littoral State to the area, the South China Sea serves as the first test of dedication for mutually prosperous Sino-American relations.