Managing Security Problems in South China Sea through ASEAN

Abstract

The fact is that the geographical location of the South China Sea is strategically very important for the world major powers. Reason behind it is that this sea links the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and it is also vital shipping channel about half of the world’s merchant powers. Therefore, the security concerns in the South China Sea are very crucial and China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines have many competing claims regarding the territory and jurisdiction. All these powers desire to control over the reserves of oil and gas in this region and moreover, they desire the freedom of navigation. This is the major cause of tension in this region and it becomes very critical when china has embarked on a substantial modernization of its maritime paramilitary forces as well as naval capabilities to enforce its sovereignty and jurisdiction claims in South China Sea. That is why; here it is an urgent need to manage all the security concerns in the South China Sea, and the role of ASEAN may be very important in this regard. The present paper highlights the role of ASEAN to manage tension in South China Sea.