China and the South Sea Dialogues

China and the South Sea Dialogues. By Lee Lai To. Westport and London: Praeger, 199g. 168pp. Stretching 1,800 miles from Sumatra to Taiwan, the South China Sea is larger than the Mediterranean and contains five zones of potential conflict, of which the most contentious dispute is over the Spratly Islands (referred to as Nansha by the Chinese, and the Truong Sa islands by the Vietnamese). The islands, which are located in the southeastern portion of the South China Sea, are disputed by China, Taiwan, and four ASEAN states: Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei. This work by Lee Lai To presents a detailed and balanced analysis of the territorial and maritime disputes involving the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea, including the Spratlys. However, it is not a detailed historical analysis of the competing claims over the disputed territories. Instead, Lee's study explores China's diplomatic strategy in bilateral and multilateral negotiations on the South China Sea. Indeed, the analysis and consideration of both the formal and, more significantly, the informal dimensions to this diplomacy is a clear strength of the study. The core of the book focuses on the tension between the PRC's preference for bilateral discussions and the increasing preference for multilateral fora by the other disputants. Nonetheless, rather than presenting an insurmountable barrier to dialogue, Lee charts the growing willingness of the PRC to engage with such fora as part of Beijing's wider goal of increasing its influence both in regional and international affairs while avoiding the internationalization of such dialogues. He maintains that in order to reap the benefits of its economic modernization programme, China requires a period of peace and stability at home and in the region. Consequently, at least for the time being, China will benefit from the pursuit of a friendly and independent foreign policy towards neighbouring states in Southeast Asia. Indeed, in Chapter 2, Lee notes that the visit of Li Peng to three ASEAN states during 1990-91 marked an important departure for China in its process of diplomatic normalization, since in the past it had been the practice for foreign leaders to court Beijing. The departure from this, he asserts, is evidence of a more outgoing and constructive diplomacy by the PRC. Beijing's engagement with ASEAN, Lee contends, is, in part, motivated by a desire to solve the problems China has with its neighbours without involving the United States. Equally, the rapid (re)emergence of China in the Asia-Pacific region necessitates that the claimants in Southeast Asia discard many of their prior assumptions towards the PRC in favour of a new and more constructive approach. Consequently, the book also examines Sino-ASEAN relations in general and explores how this creates both opportunities and constraints on China's conduct in the South China Sea dialogues. On the part of ASEAN, Lee argues that the organization's engagement with Beijing stems from several factors. The first is the growing strategic importance of China in the post-Cold War world following the demise of the Soviet Union and the reduction of the military presence of the United States in the region after its withdrawal from Subic Bay and Clark Airfield in the Philippines in 1992. …