Chinese Fault Lines The Future of Conflict in

Chinese Fault Lines The Future of Conflict in and Around China

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea Chinese claims are vast and cover a variety of competing claims from countries in the spratly’s and beyond One bone of contention in particular is the claim of china on vietnamese islands that are on the edge of the Spratly island claims and incorporated in that chain as well Vietnam is a country that is populated with proud people that consider themselves the equals of the chinese militarily.

Spratly Islands Dispute

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea The Vietnamese view China as their greatest threat The conflict over islands in and around the Spratly’s has only increased tension in the relationship Vietnam, like China, has been undergoing rapid expansion and growth economically since the turn of the 21 st century This has meant that as China has beefed up its military capabilities, Vietnam, in kind, has as well

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea Vietnam however has not relied only on domestic production of weapons to fend against China The Vietnamese have procured small arms, planes, and even Kilo class submarines from Russia This is all in the hope that they can bolster their defenses enough to prevent China from attempting an invasion Be it land, sea, or air

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea The Vietnamese, according to them do not seek war with China However as the Chinese have taken over their islands in the South China Sea it has become more important than ever to prepare for the inevitable, conflict with China The Vietnamese hope if the unthinkable should happen and the two nations do go to war that the Vietnamese military will be able to take on the Chinese But the way they see it they would only have to injure slightly the Chinese side

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea This injury will hopefully convince the Chinese that economically it is not worth attacking Vietnam an order to secure a tiny atoll of land in the South China Sea

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea China for it’s part may not care that Vietnam and China are only fighting over a small strip of land in the South China Sea if war were to ever break out between the two countries, seeing that Vietnam is a much smaller country than China, the Chinese may fight longer than expected to secure as much leverage for negotiating as possible China may also continue to fight Vietnam out of pride

Chinese Occupied Islands in the South China Sea

Chinese Territorial Claims: Vietnam and the South China Sea One interesting theory is that China may actually be provoking conflict with Vietnam to not only test Vietnam’s will to standup to China But also to possibly leapfrog Russia as the dominant counter balance to United States influence It’s believed that China by successfully defeating and occupying Vietnam believes they would have succeed where the United States failed in the 60’s and 70’s thereby staking a claim as one of the preeminent military powers in the world