The South China Seas and Sino-U.S. Relations

Abstract: America ’s change in its policy towards the South China Seas reflects changes in its overall strategic needs towards a core focus on maintaining a strategic equilibrium and regional stability.The Obama Administration’s high profile intervention in the conflict over the South China Seas is related to its East Asian Pivot, and also to its strategic re-balancing towards the Asia Pacific Region, but comes more as part of its plan to respond to China’s riseFor China and the U.S.to avoid following the historical trends associated with great power transition, they must consider both their direct and indirect interactions, manage their core and mutual interests, and work both to protect interests while maintaining stability.They must also strike a balance between managing great power relations and critical ties with their neighboring countries. If both states are able to work towards building a new type of great power relations, they can demonstrate that the worries of the international community regarding resolution of the dispute over the South China Seas are unfounded.

About the Author: Wang Chuanjian is a Professor at Shandong Jianzhu University