China as an Expansionist Power - Example

Running Head: CHINA AN EXPANSIONIST POWER China as an expansionist power Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Expansion in South China Sea 4 Senkaku Islands 6 China weapon expansion 8 China a threat to India 11 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction Expansionism is the policy of enlarging the geographic boundaries of a given nation, either by trying to take over the surrounding territory, or by taking control of lands that are found very far from the mother nation. Always, expansionism is tried through the military aggression’s process, with the plan of creating new political boundaries. Irredentism has been applied as the basis for expansionism. Basically, this approach entails trying to take over the territory and joins them with a different nation on the grounds of common tribal, cultural, or historical backgrounds. The ongoing efforts of china to take over Taiwan are the current example. Revanchism is closely related to irredentism, it basically entails taking back territories that were gone during war time to the nation that initially had control. Reunification is closely related to Revanchism and irredentism (Cosmo 2002). There are several specialized types of expansionism. One of the well known types of expansionism is colonialism. Basically, this is the process of creating an empire worldwide by grabbing control of surrounding lands. This type of empire-building always entails a sense of great fiat, with an idea that God is heading the march to get additional lands (Cosmo 2002). According to Cosmo (2002) Expansionism concerns borders and expansion of these borders both politically and geographically. China has often been an expansionist power. The current attempt by china to take over Taiwan is one way that proofs their expansionist power. China’s expansionist power is displayed in various ways, the extension in the South China Sea, where china currently announced that the whole water body and all islands in it belong to them, even if no Chinese monarch has ever possessed them. China has been claiming ownership of Senkakus since 1971. The military threats at Taiwan democracy and the claims by Chinese that Okinawa is their territory shows that China is an expansionist power. Expansion in South China Sea The South China Sea is among the busiest shipping ways in the world. It is a very productive fishing region. The sea has huge oil’s deposits and natural gas. It is surrounded by China, Brunei, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. All these nations claim ownership of the Sea. For many years, unresolved sovereignty matters and rivalry over resources have enhanced political tension. Since November 2002, the announcement on the parties’ conduct restricted territorial extension in the South China Sea and guaranteed that sovereignty disagreements were peacefully resolved. However, China recently has enhanced its claims to the region. Despite objections from Vietnam, China will once more put into effect a summer fishing outlaw over the whole South China Sea, plus regions that Hanoi believes to be under its direct control (Bateman 2009). Bateman (2009) argues that eight fisheries patrol ships from china implemented the ban some years back, and currently, two vessels accompanied private boats for fishing to the Spratly Islands. Vietnam is accusing China of harassing fishing boats of Vietnamese in numerous disputed regions, including one event that occurred recently near Paracel Islands in which Chinese ships held fishing vessel of Vietnamese. Another event entailed Yuzheng 311 vessel that weigh four thousand six hundred tons. It is the biggest fishing protection vessel in China. This vessel was surrounded by over twenty Vietnamese coastguard and fishing vessels as it tried to prevent harassment of fishing boats of China’s nationals. The Yuzheng was also stopped by marine ships and aircraft of Malaysia as it guarded south of Spratly (Bateman 2009). Rights for fishing are more likely to be a tense matter between China and other nations that boarder the South China Sea. They are all among the leading fish and shellfish producers in the world. By harassing unfamiliar vessels and implementing a summer fishing outlaw, China is taking over the regional ocean domination and setting up a pattern for power over resources in regions of disputed control. Chinese fisheries patrol ships are not the sole tools China applies to stress its possession of the South China Sea. A navy task force embarked on training practice that took several weeks to end and surrounded the disputed regions, Spratly and Paracel Islands included. When the navy was still in Spratlys, they coordinated combat exercise and mock bombing trainings with land-based aircraft (Bateman 2009). Another task force simultaneously went to the East China and performed antisubmarine practices next to Okinotoro atoll, which is a group of islands that is in between Taiwan and is strategically significant United States base on Guam. Beijing on the other hand is trying to demonstrate its determination in expanding its marine defense perimeter. These practices are part of latest sea defense policy of China, a shift in earlier naval policy that aimed at coastal protection. The economic and population growth in China has resulted in a concentrated attempt by Beijing to control directly accessibility of energy and other resources. This policy is very clear in the South China Sea where the flotilla patrols the disputed regions despite complaints from its neighbors. Deposits of Oil and natural gas in the South China Sea could be huge and if they are under direct control of China, then it would be Chinese main source of energy supplied domestically. Therefore the current military exercises indicate China’s desire to control numerous contested regions. Therefore the governments in the region and the United States Pacific Command need to be cautious about Chinese resource-driven expansionism in the future. The expansion in the south sea therefore proofs China to be an expansionist power. Senkaku Islands China has been claiming Senkaku Island since 1975. In the classified Chinese map that was produced by China’s map authority, outlines the islands as Senkaku, which is a Japanese name. The map has a separating line south of the islands that shows that Senkaku Islands fall within Japanese boundaries. The map contradicts with statement from Chinese foreign ministry. The ministry claims that Diaoyu Islands have often been the territory of China since ancient periods. It believes that it owns indisputable control over Senkaku Islands. The foreign ministry believes that the government of China determination in protecting national control and territorial integrity is strong and unshakeable (Hong 2009). On the other hand Japan claims that Diaoyu islands are their inherent territory and they are the ones to control it. The government of Japan took full control of Senkaku Islands in 1895 after surveys proved that the regions had been unoccupied and there was no any evidence that shows China having controlled the region (Hong 2009). Hong (2009) argues that the managerial rights over the Senkaku Islands had been practiced by the U.S. up to the time they gave it back to Japan in 1972. Both China and Taiwan did not expressed opposition to the Islands’ status being controlled by U.S. administration. The claim of Islands ownerships came to the surface when the improvement of petroleum resources on the East China Sea’s continental shelf came up. Therefore since the islands were controlled by Japanese, China started claiming ownership and control of the Islands. The Senkaku Islands dispute portrays China as an expansionist power. Okinawa and Taiwan It is surprising that China is not contented by demanding control over Senkaku Islands, the islands that it has been claiming since 1975. China is now aiming to take over the whole Okinawa Islands. Since the creation of communist China that is People’s Republic of china in 1949, China has claimed its control over Taiwan (Peck 2006). The communist China has never ruled Taiwan. China maintains its armed liberation’s principal to attack Taiwan if Taiwan tries to be independent by changing the name, Republic of China, to Republic of Taiwan. In real sense, China is not only planning to invade Taiwan, but also they are looking for away of capturing Okinawa (Peck 2006). China is not a nation of parliamentary democracy with parliamentarian system that is characterized by many parties. Since its creation, the communist party is the only party in power that controls the people’s liberation army of China. The communist party’s leadership is eternal and the concept of public agreement does not exist. Though china defines its liberation principle as a come back to homeland China, Taiwan cannot be liberated by a one-party dictatorship country since the concept of public consensus is missing. China only maintains threatening Taiwan by commencing its armed liberation to hold back the independence movement. China’s attitude makes citizens of Taiwan to be more cautious. The power over Okinawa has not been settled. Okinawa is facing a threat similar to that of Taiwan. China tried to create a quibble theory to claim Okinawa as its territory. China lightly dismissed the agreement of Okinawa people. Historically Okinawa used to be a sovereign kingdom. Okinawa was the only place that land battle could take place in Japan. During the pacific War, United States controlled Okinawa for twenty seven years (Peck 2006). The United States later, in 1972 returned Okinawa to Japan. It was the strong wish of Okinawa people for Okinawa to be returned to Japan. Therefore China’s claim of Okinawa is like insulting the Okinawa citizens since it is against their will. The Chinese slogan, come back to the homeland China, the huge family of people of China, does not impress the Taiwan people or the Okinawa people as long as China maintains its threats of launching its armed liberation. China weapon expansion China is very far in aircraft-carrier R&D technology and was supposed to have one in water by the year 2010. China has been increasing its defense budget following the alarming rise of other nation’s defense budget. The existence of flattop program in China has drawn different understandings. A number of military experts have pointed out that carriers are not compatible with China’s military policy of symmetry. That is to say, the military build up of China has concentrated on developing abilities that are best in taking advantage of the weaknesses of the opponents rather than the one that attempts to counteract its apparent powers (Peck 2006). The United States is among the probable rivals Chinese forces might face. Therefore Chinese are attempting to pursue naval air power, a field in which the U.S. Navy has about a worldwide monopoly. The United Kingdom, Spain, India, Italy, France and a few other nations have at least one carrier. They mostly employ vertical Take-off or Landing aircraft. Therefore China is trying to advance in naval air power so that they can easily take over the disputed territories. To counteract the irresistible aircraft-carrier power of America in a conflict over Taiwan, China has used its defense money on probable carrier-killer weapons schemes such as keel-cracking submarines and supersonic, sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles. Therefore China is practicing David and Goliath tactic against the might military of the U.S. in pacific. Beijing is threatened by the Chinese rapid development in their military weapons. Beijing is currently changing its tactics. It is aiming toward a more balanced marine force that consists of aircraft carriers to project strength deep into pacific. The Chinese expansion of their military weapons is become a threat to not only America but also in Pacific (Peck 2006). China is without doubt arising power. It is the country with the largest population in the world. It has the fastest growing economy in the world with a huge defense budget. It is also among the world’s largest energy consumers. These therefore enable China to be more powerful in the region. With time Beijing might announce to the world that they are not anymore powerful in the region. For many years, Chinese vessels hardly ever went abroad on military diplomacy assignments, which are known as ships visits. This is not the case lately because China has develops its blue water that is open-ocean marine capabilities. As resisted to provocative practices of hard power, a friendly ship call, while still showing power, does so in a soft power manner. The U.S. Marine has effectively done this for many years with ship calls to strange ports of call. Locals visit the vessels. Sailors depart for liberty. People contact each other, thus shaping each side opinions in a positive manner. China might opt to create a number of carriers to represent its increasing clout. China might be looking carriers for many reasons. The missions are independent that is a carrier can perform ship visits, guide sea lines of communication, project power and fight battles. Carrier operations are not always very easy. Very few individuals have mastered them like United States marine, with about century of experience. They soviets attempted, but were unsuccessful. Beijing is not going to easily join the club. China interest in carriers will therefore make them more powerful in the region and this will enable them annex disputed areas, thus China is an expansionist power. America should also be aware of the recent call for Chinese to create a powerful navy and to be prepared for conflict at any time. This is a clear indication that China is preparing to invade certain regions. Therefore Americans should not take their naval dominance for granted (Peck 2006). In the previous year, China spent a bout $ 139 billion in modernizing its armed forces. This is three times more than its announced defense budget. This amount minimizes Russia military budget, Japan and South Korea military budgets. This has been the reason for china’s military transformation. It is propelled by the attainment of highly developed foreign artillery and far-reaching managerial and doctrinal reforms. As China maintains its growth, expansion and control of the course of world events, it is significant to clearly note that China is increasing its power over many nations in the world. Currently China has invested in modern production of survivable nuclear missiles that is able to target the United States of America plus other regional powers. It has invested in highly developed short and medium range ballistic missiles, highly developed assault and ballistic missile underwater, Russian aircraft and precision artillery, Multi-mission F-10 fighter aircraft, new, long-range, movable air defense systems and Russian directed missile destroyers. China’s near-term concentration seems to be on Taiwan. The long term tendencies propose that China creating a force scoped for functions past Taiwan. China is continuously deploying its most highly developed weapons systems to the military areas opposite Taiwan. The military of china is developing abilities for some different military alternatives against Taiwan, including intimidation, an air and missile movement, obstruction, and amphibious invasion. China is also capable of using cyberspace to attack computer systems. Therefore china is can involve in numerous intrusions around the globe in which computer network is penetrated and information collected (Peck 2006). China a threat to India China expanding diverse in both military and economic front is a threat to India and other nations in the region. India and other nations in the region should pay attention to Chinese activities or else they will destined to undergo atrocities of China in the coming period as Tibet has been experiencing for the past fifty years (Xiao 2000). China’s activities is a threat to India and the current up grading of the Chinese military base in Qinghai, which is about one thousand nine hundred kilometer northeast of New Delhi and the advancement of new solid-fuelled missiles poses a threat to Indian government. China is organizing to create more railway systems in Tibet so that Chinese can easily access places like Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. This has increase tension among Indians. They believe that China is planning to take control of their territory. China has implemented a sixty missile launch foundations in Tibet. It has also established a modern nuclear submarine foundation on Hainan Island to underline the rising Chinese threat to vital national interests of India (Xiao 2000). Conclusion From our discussion it is quite clear that China is an expansionist power. China has the fastest growing economy in the economy. It is therefore using this as a tool to control most of the world’s economic activities. It is also evident that China is allocating huge amount of dollars on their defense budget. It is doing this because it wants to be the strongest nation in the world not only in economy but also in defense, so that it can easily achieve its objective of taking over the regions that are near and far from its current territory. China expansion to the South China Sea illustrates its expansionist power. The moment it realizes that the Sea was more resourceful, it started claiming it. It knows very well if it manages to control it fully, its economy will be stronger and thus its power. China claims of some regions such as Senkaku, Okinawa, and the entire India is very clear that it wants to expand its territory and be strongest nation in the world. Therefore America should not overlook China’s current moves. References Cosmo D.N. (2002). Ancient China and its enemies: the rise of nomadic power in East Asian history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bateman W.S & Bateman .S. (2009). Security and international politics in the South China Sea: towards a cooperative management regime. New York: Taylor & Francis. Hong S. & Dyke V. M. (2009). Maritime boundary disputes, settlement processes, and the law of the sea. Amsterdam: BRILL. Peck J. (2006). Washington's China: the national security world, the Cold War, and the origins of globalism. Massachusetts: Univ of Massachusetts Press. Xiao X. & Lin Z. (2000). Rise of China: Beijing's strategies and implications for the Asia- Pacific. New York: Taylor & Francis. Read More