China's Maritime Strategy

Overview

In this paper, I will write about the evolution of People’s Republic of China’s maritime strategy and its implications on China’s strategies on South China Sea. I will also discuss about the logic behind adopting different maritime strategy in different phases and the current and estimated future actions of China on South China Sea.

To start with, I will make an overview of China’s surrounding seas and the stages of its navy modernization.

The near sea of the People’s Republic of China can be thought of as the sea areas between China’s coastline and the first island chain, which includes Bo hai, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea. Bo hai is China’s inner sea and innermost gulf of the Yellow

influence in the Western Pacific by acting as anti-access or area denial force (A2/AD)

- reinforcing China’s status as a leading regional power and major world power.

Near Coast Defense Strategy

The near-coast defense strategy adopted between 1950s to mid 1980s refers to the defense of up to a dozen or so nautical miles of waters that extend seaward from China’s coastline and the land territory of about 300 kilometers that stretches inland from the coastline.

During that period, China's military expenditures continued to focus on land forces (and missile forces), with naval operations being supportive to land operations. A frequently used strategy was called “luring the enemy in deep” into the land territory of China where it can take advantage of its familiarity and overwhelming manpower to compensate for its technological inferiority.

The central objectives of near-coast defense were to ensure national security, protecting its shores from invasion and dealing majorly with the Soviet Union, but not to capture disputed territories or to secure maritime resources and SLOCs. The near-coast defense strategy largely depend on land based intelligence and firepower support.

Delaying strategy on South China

The integration of Chinese economy with the world economy made China more reliant on the sea trade route and the oil import route. Ninety five percent of traded goods are shipped by sea. China has one of the world’s largest merchant fleets and major shipping lines that ensure the delivery of traded goods. Also, as the world biggest energy consumer, apart from the domestically produced coal, China also depends heavily on the oil imported from the Middle East, which need to be shipped through the South China Sea. The rich deposits of oil, natural gas and minerals of South China Sea can also fuel Chinese