The East Sea is a center of geopolitical tension in Southeast Asia. China claims most of the sea as its territory, causing disputes with neighbors like Vietnam and the Philippines.
Since the 1970s, countries have claimed islands and zones in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, which have rich resources and fishing areas. The inability of Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders to resolve disputes through diplomacy could weaken international maritime laws and promote destabilizing arms increases.
Satellite images show China’s efforts to expand land in the South China Sea by increasing island sizes or creating new ones. China has built ports, military installations, and airstrips in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, where it has twenty and seven outposts. China has militarized Woody Island with fighter jets, missiles, and radar systems.
The United States, with interests in navigation freedom and securing sea lines of communication (SLCs), supports a binding code of conduct and confidence-building measures. China’s claims threaten SLCs, which are important for trade and naval movement.
Japan has sold military ships and equipment to the Philippines and Vietnam to improve their maritime security and deter Chinese aggression.
EU Offers Security Support to Vietnam
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU aims to ensure peace in the South China Sea and offered to help Vietnam improve its maritime and cybersecurity capabilities.
Vietnam disputes China’s South China Sea boundaries, a key shipping route China claims almost entirely, causing tensions with regional countries.
Borrell told Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi that the EU has a ‘direct interest in maintaining peace and stability’ in the South China Sea, where over a third of EU imports and more than 20% of exports pass.
He stated, “The EU could enhance Vietnam’s capabilities in cybersecurity, maritime security, and crisis management”.
Vietnam has used Russian military equipment for decades but since 2022 has expressed interest in diversifying its security supplies, discussing options with European countries.
Borrell emphasized that international law, which Vietnam invokes in the South China Sea, should apply everywhere, including Ukraine. Many EU countries view Hanoi’s stance on Russia’s actions in Ukraine as too close to Moscow.
Climate Ties
Borrell urged Vietnam to accelerate the implementation of a plan agreed with the EU and international donors to reduce coal reliance, which has seen little progress since late 2022. He called for quick identification of projects for co-funding, such as renewables or power grid upgrades.
Vietnam has lost billions in foreign aid due to slow project approvals amid an anti-corruption campaign. Foreign donors have offered loans instead of grants for Vietnam’s coal transition.
“I would like my visit to be the moment to launch the process to upgrade our relations,” Borrell said.
Important Partner in Regional Strategy
Vietnam and the Philippines have agreed to cooperate on maritime security in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.
The agreements, signed during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s visit to Hanoi, will enable coastguard collaboration to prevent and manage incidents in disputed waters.
The South China Sea is central to territorial disputes between China, the Philippines, and other countries. China claims most of the sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian nations claim various islands and reefs near their coasts.
An estimated $5 trillion in international trade passes through these waters annually.
Tensions between the Philippines, a US ally, and China have increased. The Philippines accused China of ‘swarming’ the Whitsun Reef, while China accused the Philippines of ‘provocations’ at the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila reported Chinese coast guard aggression.
China held military drills in the South China Sea as the US and Philippines conducted joint exercises in the same area, raising fears of wider conflict.
Quad ‘Concerned’ about the South China Sea Situation
The foreign ministers of the US, Japan, Australia, and India expressed concern over the South China Sea situation, indirectly criticizing Beijing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts in the Quad group issued a statement calling for a ‘free and open’ Pacific after talks in Tokyo. Without naming China, the statement referenced recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.
“We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterate our opposition to unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the communique stated.
“We express our concern about the militarisation of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea,” it added.
The group condemned North Korea’s missile launches. Beijing accused the four nations of “creating tension, inciting confrontation, and containing the development of other countries.”
Blinken is touring Asia-Pacific countries to reinforce regional cooperation in response to Beijing’s assertiveness and its ties with Russia. The Quad talks in Tokyo, the first since September, included Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, India’s S. Jaishankar, and Australia’s Penny Wong.
