China and the Asia-Pacific Region: Geostrategic Relations and a Return to a Naval Dimension Lee Jae-hyung BS: Korea Military Academy MPA (Master of Public Administration): Seoul National University Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Politics, the University of Adelaide, Australia Department of Politics University of Adelaide March 2002 Abstract The thesis examines China's geostrategic relations with Asia-Pacific countries with special reference to its naval ambitions toward the region. The study initially explores the role of a naval force as a nation's tool for protecting commercial shipping and fisheries, safeguarding sovereignty of offshole islands and resources, and as a complement to diplomatic activities and force projection in the outside world. The thesis concentrates especially on the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s apparent intention to expand its maritime influence into the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean by putting pressure on the security of sea lines of communication (SLOCs) from the Gulf to the nations of East Asia via the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Stlait. The thesis argues that, although China was a world-class maritime power by the mid-fifteenth century, it was intruded upon, and subsequently politically humiliated, by the'Western and Japanese invaders, who, itonically used the sea to achieve this in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. After its foundation in 1949, the PRC attempted to overcome these humiliations by employing Mao Zedong's'people's war' strategy, and this was developed as a fundamental military doctrine until the emergence of Deng Xiaoping as supreme leader in 1979.In geopolitical tel'ms, the PRC's strategic environment has begun to transform after the demise of the 'War. Soviet Union and the end of the Cold Since then, the PRC's fear of major land border wars has been significantly diminished, replaced by sea challenges, notably with respect to such examples as overlapping claims over the South China Sea and Diaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands. Moreover, considerations of security on regional SLOCs have become more urgent for China, as it became a major exporter of manufactured goods and a net oil importer after 1993, requiring that its southwestern approaches are kept open and safe. The thesis contemplates the proposition that in this process, China could become a regional great sea power of sufficient scope to cause problems for the United States' position in the region, and that this could have considerable implications for the economy of regional countries as well as to the US for its trade and force projection in the event of crisis in the Gulf or elsewhere. The study further evaluates how China's naval challenge to regional waterways develops, and, finally, suggests which policy options are open to regional powers (including the United States) in furthering their own interests, but at the same time maintaining a clitical level of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacifrc region in the new century. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I had been in the Korean Army for approximately 27 yearc, and retired from it as a Colonel in July 1997. Aft-er my retirement, I made my mind to begin with my second life. There is a saying that "The ship is the safest when it moors, but the real value of the ship is not to stay in the harbour forever, but to voyage fighting the wind and waves". This is why I came to Adelaide to study. Upon arrival in Adelaide University in February 1998, one of the most important tasks for me was to choose the topic of my thesis. As a career army officer, my prirnary concern has always been the national security of my country. Since the division of Kolea into two parts in August 1945, the Communist North Korea with its one million-man army has long been an immediate threat to the Republic of Korea (ROK). Therefore, the ROK military has continuously emphasised the importance of the ground force rather than other services, including that of the Navy. However, the security environment of the Asia-Pacific region has been dramatically transformed after the end of the Cold'War confrontation and the diastrophism of the PRC since the emergence of Deng Xiaoping. As a result, the threat of land war in the region has, to a considerable extent, been diminished, Instead, sea challenges with regard to disputed islands and critical sea-lanes have emerged. It means that the role of the navy has gradually been increasing in the international community. Even though the land-border threat from North Korea still remains significant, the ROK navy will play an important role for the national interest, including the securing of the overlapping claims of sovereignty on some islands and of sea-lanes of commercial shipping. During my one-year study at Indian National Defence College in New Delhi in 1988, I was interested in the role of regional navies in the Southeast Asian waters and the Indian Ocean. This is why I chose as the topic of my thesis the potential challenge of regional sea regimes and its implications to the security of Western Pacifrc and the Indian Ocean. This thesis would not have been completed without help from many people. First of all, I have to convey my sincere appreciation to my supervisors, Dr Bob Catley (currently Professor and the Head of Politics Department, Otago University, New Zealand) and Dl Felix Patrikeeff. For the first 18 months of my research work, Professor Catley guided me to design time frame of the research as well as helped me to collect materials and to write the thesis. I am really proud of his sincere assistance on my early research, and thankful for his intellectual advice and friendship. Since he left for Otago University early in my candidature, Dr Felix Patrikeeff has provided me with enthusiastic help for me to complete my thesis, and encouraged me to embellish every chapter in the present work. He also assisted me to develop research work, and provided me with help in structuring my field research activities. I owe much to him for the research travel to China, the Republic of Korea, and some Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. At the frnal stage of my writing he showed great enthusiasm for me to re-examine the basic argument of contentious issues raised in the present study. Without his sincere support, I would not have finished my thesis. Dr Chung-in Moon (Dean & Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University) and Dr You-Il Lee (Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Edith Cowan University) also provided valuable comments on my work, and I would like to thank them for these. lt I also wish to acknowledge Associate Professor Pal Ahluwalia (Head of Politics Department of our university), Associate Professor Dr Paul Corcoran, Associate Professor Dr Peter Mayer, and Dr Jenny Stock (all from the Department of Politics) for their help to me in the course of my candidature. Ms Chris McElhinney and Ms Tina Esca, administrative staff members of our Department, have been wonderful in providing me with the necessary technical suppol't in completing my work. Thanks are conveyed too to Professor Jain Purnendra, the former Head of the Centre for Asian Studies, as well as Dr Se-jin Pak and Dr Gerry Groot from that department for their encouragement they provided. Furthermore, my appreciation extends to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Scholarship Office and the Deparlment of Politics for funding me research travel grants to East and Southeast Asian countries. During my fieldwork many scholars commented on my research, devoting their valuable time to discuss with me some of the controversial issues present in my thesis. In this respect, I would like to express my thanks to Dr B.H. Hamzah(Director, Maritime Institute of Malaysia: MIMA) and Dt J.N. Mak (Researcher, MIMA, currently Director of the Institute), Dr Derek da Cunha (Research Fellow, Institute for Southeast Asian Studies: ISEAS) for commenting me on the current issues of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. They also provided me with an insight into the strategic significance of the Southeast Asian sea lines of communication (SLOCs). Dr Ikrar Nusa Bhakti (Director, Indonesian Institute of Sciences: IIS) and Mr. Bandarto Bandoro (Director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies: CSIS) gave me valuable information on Indonesia's archipelagos and regional waterways. In Korea, Dr Dalchoong Kim (Professor and President of the Sejong Institute) and Dr Jong-chun Paek (currently the President of Sejong Institute) commented on the future role of SLOCs in Southeast Asia and its implications to the ROK and Japan. I would like to thank Ms Ma Yanbing (Associate Professor, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations: CICIR), ll{lr. Zhai Kun (Associate Professor, CICIR) and Ms Yang V/enjing (Program Coordinator, CICIR) for their wann hospitality and sharing with me their propound knowledge on China's future role over the region. In Beijing, Dr Wang Yizhou (Deputy Director, Chinese Acaderny of the Social Sciences: CASS) provided me with the future role of China's economy and military. I also have to thank some of my fellow students and colleagues. These include Dr Stephen Wood (Lecturer, Politics Department, The University of Western Australia), Dr Leong Yew, Dr William Wang, Ms Minerva Nasser-Eddine, Mr. Benito Cao, Mr Greg de Cure and many others for encouraging me to do my research work. Mr. Tim Bryson and Ms Lynette Leane plovided grammatical support for editing the thesis. And lastly, I leally thank my wife Tae-soo and lovely children, Min-song, Sang-hyup and Hyun-jin, who encouraged me to study hard and to keep myself in a state of good health.