The Rise of China In Asia

The biggest issue facing the United States today on foreign policy is the rise of China. China has annexed the South China Sea, and reports are out that China might invade Taiwan in 2020. The benefit of Chinese rise is the annexing of the South China Sea for more natural resources, conquering Taiwan will gain more control in Asia, and in the future, China will slowly push out the United States out of South Korea.

The South China Sea is located in the Pacific Ocean. The South China Sea is 1.4 million miles long. It also contains 12 percent of the worlds fish and natural resources such as natural gas and oil. Having control over these resources will allow the Chinese economy to grow in the future. However, the seizing of the South China Sea by China has caused controversy among other nations in the region. Some countries are Vietnam and the Philippines. Before China annex the South China Sea, it was international waters, but China claims it is their territory based on the 9 dash line. The Chinese have established military bases on man-made islands that they created. Testing nuclear-capable bombers and putting air to surface missiles. As a result, countries in the region feel that China will continue with its aggression in the area and the next target is Taiwan.

A future invasion and conquering of Taiwan will allow China to gain much military experience in a combat role and will push American influence back. Taiwan receives aid from the United States. For example, military equipment and economic assistance. Removing American support and control is vital for China to expand its influence in Asia. However, Taiwan is part of the One-China policy, which means its part of China, so an invasion would not be an invasion of a foreign country, but an invasion of its territory. If the invasion of Taiwan is successful, it will benefit China greatly militarily, but it can open the door to the removal of American influence slowly in South Korea.

In the country of South Korea, there are a total of 28,000 US troops stationed in the nation. These troops are prepared for war encase if North Korea invades the country. The reason troops are station is because the Korea war officially didn’t end. There was no peace treaty sign between the nations. As a result, forces on both ends of the border are prepared for war. North Korea still is developing its nuclear and missile program, and the United States continue military exercises with South Korea to defend against an invasion by the North Koreans. However, times might be changing because of Chinese wealth and growing military influence in the region. North Korea is a puppet of China. North Korea only exists because China keeps sending aid and might be secretly providing military equipment to the Kim regime.Currently, there are peace talks between Kim and South Korea and maybe the United States in the near future. The Kim regime is willing to denuclearize, but not everyone believes North Korea is willing to give up all its nuclear weapons. The biggest question if North Korea does denuclearize, then China and North Korea will benefit greatly.

China will benefit strategically because of the removal of all nuclear weapons in the region, which in the future will be easier to invade or create proxy wars in the area. The Chinese do not want North Korea to have nuclear weapons because it fears that other countries in the region will wish to have its nuclear weapons to defend against North Koreas nuclear weapons. North Korea will gain economically, which will grow its economy, but it could build it conventional arm forces to more of a modern military. For example, if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons, China has nuclear weapons to defend North Korea, while North Korea builds it armed forces. If North Korea can develop its economy, it will lead to a stronger military, which is protected by nuclear weapons from China. In the future, China can use North Korea in the future to start a conflict with South Korea to remove American influence in the region. The Chinese are not aggressive in their foreign policy, but patience. They will play the long game to push out the United States out of Asia slowly.

In the end, China will continue to grow its influence economically and military strength in the region. Future countries of being put in danger are Taiwan and South Korea because its close to the Chinese homeland, and also has American influence in these countries. The hope for China is to slowly push out the United States in a smart slow strategy to not risk a major conflict with the United States.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily

reflect the official policy or position of any agency.

1.https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-30/how-many-u-s-troops-does-south-korea-really-need

2.http://upfrontpolitics.com/the-chinese-peaceful-rise-to-power/

3.http://upfrontpolitics.com/are-we-going-to-war-with-china/

4.http://upfrontpolitics.com/is-asia-under-threat-by-china-north-korea/

5.https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/the-south-china-sea-is-really-a-fishery-dispute/

6.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38285354