China's maritime strategy: Balaji Chandramohan comments on China's aspirations to become a global power.

• Author: Chandramohan, Balaji
• Position: Essay

After long being a continental power, China in the 21st century has started to follow an ambitious maritime expansion course, seeking to bolster its power-projection capabilities, especially n North Asia, South-east Asia, the South-west Pacific and the South Pacific. This has pushed the countries in the Asia-Pacific region such as Australia, India, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia to form an effective strategic partnership. Further, it has induced the United States to increase its maritime military presence in the region--with a view to having a forward presence or pivot. It has sought increased strategic co-operation and alliance with countries that are wary of China's expanding maritime presence.

As the rise of Asian countries like India and China shifts the geo-political balance in the Asia-Pacific region, it is timely to examine the maritime strategies that such countries might employ and the impact their activities could have on the overall regional geo-strategic architecture.

China is an ancient continental land power with an incomplete oceanic awareness. With the transformation of China's grand strategy from landward security to seaward security following the end of the Cold War, maritime security interests have gradually become the essential element in China's strategic approach. Undoubtedly, the quest for sea power and sea rights has become Beijing's main maritime strategic issue.

As China's maritime politico-economic-military leverage in the Asia-Pacific region escalates, so too does its desire to become a leading global sea power. This objective demands that it expand its maritime capabilities by developing its navy and preparing for . armed confrontation.

From China's perspective, its security environment is changing. The traditional territorial scramble is shifting from an emphasis on control of land to control of territorial waters, of maritime strategic resources and of critical sea-lanes. As a result, maritime economic competition has become a key focus for many nations. Given this, China's maritime shift from a coastal to a high seas focus is understandable.

As a consequence, in recent years, Beijing has, purposefully, changed its maritime strategic thinking from Maoist-style coastal defence activities to offshore defence and ultimately far sea defence. This strategic aspiration is clear in China's recent national defence white papers.

Although not having a maritime strategy for most of the 19th and 20th century, China has always been essentially a maritime country. With its 18,000-kilometre mainland coastline and 14,000-kilometre island coastline, China constitutes the single largest maritime landmass in the Asia-Pacific region.

Early evolution

The earliest of the current versions of Chinas modern maritime strategy is generally believed to have already evolved by the early 15th century, when, during the reign of Ming Emperor Renzong, the famous Admiral Zheng He made seven successful naval expeditions between 1405-33, going as far as the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Africa. By today's standards, however, Zheng He's Nautical Charts presents a vision that can, at best, only be described as coastal defence'. A late Ching dynasty scholar, Wei Yuan, who recorded his thoughts in the Charts and Records of Naval Countries,, further elaborated his vision. Later, this maritime thinking became more focused following two major naval invasions of China: one by the Japanese in 1874 and the other by the...