Fabinyi, Michael (2015) China and the South China Sea resource grab. The Diplomat.

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Abstract

[Extract] Much recent political commentary has focused on the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. There is widespread recognition that a key driver of the dispute is competition over the region's natural resources. This has led prominent commentators such as Robert Kaplan to warn of the likelihood of "Finlandization." Yet, despite ongoing legal arguments, China currently has access to important natural resources in the Philippines. While international actors debate the legal status of Chinese and Philippine claims, China is continuing to “change the facts on the ground” in terms of access to resources. It does this through conventional rhetorical pressure and military means in the South China Sea, and by other modes of access to resources, including favorable trade arrangements and poaching. While attention does obviously need to be paid to legal developments and conventional military pressure in the South China Sea, policymakers need to focus also on how contests over natural resources are currently unfolding in other contexts.

Item ID:	39379
Item Type:	Article (Non-Refereed Research)
Related URLs:	Publisher
Additional Information:	Freely available from publiser website. © 2015 The Diplomat. All Rights Reserved.
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2015 04:54
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1606 Political Science > 160607 International Relations @ 100%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society @ 100%
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