New Status Quo on the South China Sea?

China’s Artificial Island-building and its Implications for Regional Security

Abstract

This study is focused on China’s island-building project in the South China Sea. It starts by reconstructing the project’s context from the Chinese perspective, examining the possible interests and goals that China has in expanding its maritime presence. The paper then moves on to analyse how the Philippines and Vietnam, two regional countries in territorial disputes with Beijing, attempt to step up against what they see as China’s growing regional dominance. In the third part, the paper looks at the strategy of the United States, a country apparently torn between counterbalancing China’s growing regional influence and maintaining an important but fragile relationship with Beijing.