China’s Strategy Heavily Marine-Focused

There is an American scholar who thinks that China is expanding regionally by land and sea, while another American scholar thinks that China is falling short in its desire to expand by culture and heritage.

Aside from India, China has no other major border conflicts. There was one rivalry involving the Qing Dynasty and Zhunbu, along China’s northern and northwestern frontiers. Another involved Russia, which slowly brewed into a conflict. The close of the Qing Dynasty saw a loss of 1.5 million square kilometers, and the Republic of China saw a loss of 1.6 million square kilometers of Outer Mongolia. Because of this territorial history, which has been harmful to China, Russia had concerns about retaliation; Mongolia was also worried. But it eventually worked out following a period of 60 years. An agreement was signed and a stable border was established in accordance with international law.

It’s worth taking a look at China’s historic and strategic heritage and long-term stability in finding its borders. In China’s history, trouble from foreigners has mainly come from invading nomadic peoples. Agrarian peoples have difficulty settling on grasslands. Chinese dynasties have historically been defensive regarding their national borders and have given priority to defending the interior. There are three sorts of defense, such as the Ming Dynasty’s erecting of the Great Wall, a border defense. Another sort is an offensive defense, which took place in the latter half of the Han Dynasty, involving crossing into the occupied western region and the northeast to “cut off the right and left arms” of the Huns’ invasion. The third type involves economics and trade. The fourth is the system of clans, vassals and tributes to the emperor. Today, China has fundamentally achieved stability on its borders, faces no significant threat to the nation and does not employ offensive tactics. With regard to terrorists, a joint defense has been implemented in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China has boosted trade activity and there is an economic function to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

With its border problems basically decided, China’s core territory is essentially stable. The focus is now on the seas with a continuous increase in maritime strength. The navy and air force will expand while the army will cut back. Firstly, the question of Taiwan is not yet resolved, there are Japanese clashes in the East China Sea and there are still potential clashes in the South China Sea. There is a need to protect trade routes. It is the same with land. As on the seas, it is defensive. In East Asia, China’s biggest concern is Japan. With China now unified, will it be able to control the links to Japan and Southeast Asia, just as the Zhengs of Taiwan have done? With the U.S. pulled back to the second island chain, it could still preserve its own security and also its goal of threatening potential opponents.

Protecting trade routes, China must maintain good relations with the nations along the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia and must establish tight economic and trade relations. Each year, China exports large quantities of goods and imports large quantities of raw material. Iron ore comes from Australia. South America and India are emerging. In the petroleum trade, Chinese oil companies in Africa sell oil to Europe and to the U.S., yet they import oil from the Middle East. On the world’s oceans, trade security is extremely important to China.

China’s navy is still one that is underwater, but in coast guard clashes China could be victorious. Yet there is no ability to protect territorial waters and also to protect marine trade routes. There is a need to achieve a balance of power on the seas and to avoid conflict. After India got aircraft carriers, Thailand bought one too.