1st Edition

Southeast Asia and the Rise of Chinese and Indian Naval Power Between Rising Naval Powers

Edited By Sam Bateman, Joshua Ho Copyright 2010
    272 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    272 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book examines the emerging maritime security scene in Southeast Asia. It considers highly topical implications for the region of possible strategic competition between China and India - the rising naval powers of Asia - with a possible naval "arms race" emerging between these countries both with naval force development and operations. As part of its "Look East" policy, India has deployed naval units to the Pacific Ocean for port visits and exercises both with East Asian navies and the US Navy, but India is also concerned about the possibility of the Chinese Navy operating in the Indian Ocean. Even as the US-India defence relationship continues to deepen, the US and China are struggling to build a closer links. China’s and India’s strategic interests overlap in this region both in maritime strategic competition or conflict – which might be played out in the Bay of Bengal, the Malacca and Singapore Straits and the South China Sea. The sea lines of communication (SLOCs) through Southeast Asian waters constitute vital "choke points" between the Indian and Pacific Oceans carrying essential energy supplies for China and other Northeast Asian countries. Any strategic competition between China and India has implications for other major maritime players in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, especially Australia, the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as the US. This book identifies possible cooperative and confidence-building measures that may contribute to enhanced relations between these two major powers and dampen down the risks associated with their strategic competition.

    Introduction – Arun Prakash  Part I: Regional Strategic Environment – Contemporary Regional Relations  1. Between Rising Powers – A Broad Strategic Overview - C. Raja Mohan  2. China’s Relations with Southeast Asia - Huang Jing  3. US Engagement with China, India and Southeast Asia - Bronson Percival  4. Japanese Engagement with China, India and Southeast Asia - Masashi Nishihara  5. Singapore’s Strategic Involvement in the Indian Ocean - Emrys Chew  6. Chinese Perspective - Cai Peng Hong  7. The Korean Perspective - Park Chang Kwoun  8. The Malaysian Perspective - Mohd Nizam Basiron & Sumathy Permal  Part II: Contemporary Regional Maritime Security  9. Regional Maritime Security – Threats and Risk Assessments - Sam Bateman  10. Cooperative Mechanisms for Safety and Security in the Malacca and Singapore Straits - Robert C. Beckman  11. Shaping Naval Power – Implications of the Naval Buildup in Asia - Norman Friedman  12. Chinese Naval Developments - Zhang Junshe  13. Indian Perspective - Devbrat Chakraborty  14. US Perspective - Michael McDevitt  15. Japanese Perspective - Takeshi Kohno  16. Australian Perspective - Rory Medcalf  17. Scope for Maritime Cooperation and Confidence Building - Pradeep Chauhan   18. Towards a Cooperative Maritime Regime in Southeast Asian Seas – Contemporary Issues, including in the South China Sea - Li Mingjiang  19. Cooperation and Confidence Building: A Southeast Asian Perspective - Kwa Chong Guan  Conclusion – Do rough seas lie ahead? - Sam Bateman

    Biography

    Sam Bateman retired from the Royal Australian Navy as a Commodore and is now a Professorial Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong, Australia; and a Senior Fellow and Adviser to the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

    Joshua Ho is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore and Coordinator of its Maritime Security Programme. He is a serving Naval Officer with 22 years of service and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He is co-editor of Best of Times, Worst of Times: Maritime Security in the Asia-Pacific; The Evolving Maritime Balance of Power in the Asia-Pacific: Maritime Doctrines and Nuclear Weapons at Sea and Globalisation and Defence in the Asia-Pacific.