The Imagined Threat of China in the South China Sea

1 J. R. Villaviray, `China Eyes Another Island in Spratlys', Manila Times, 22 January 1999 (www.manilatimes.net/).

2 `China is using military muscle to extend its presence in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Japan and the United States should adopt a more robust policy of opposition to Chinese expansionism.' Robyn Lim, professor of international relations at Hiroshima Shudo University: `Now Stand Up to Beijing in the South China Sea', International Herald Tribune, 11 March 1999. Ian James Storey supports this view, arguing that China is pursuing a policy of `creeping assertiveness' in the South China Sea. `Creeping Assertiveness: China, the Philippines, and the South China Sea Dispute', Contemporary Southeast Asia, vol. 21, no. 1, April 1999, pp. 95-118.

3 Edward D. Mansfield & Jack Snyder, `Democratization and the Danger of War', International Security, vol. 20, no. 1, Summer 1995, pp. 5-38.

4 The Balkans are a case in point. Milosevic came to power in Yugoslavia by using Serb nationalist sentiments, and has continued to stimulate Serb passions in order to deflect attention from the country's disastrous economic and social situation.

5 Stephen Levine, `Perception and Ideology', in Thomas W. Robinson & David Shambaugh, eds, Chinese Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), p. 43.

6 Chen Jie, `China's Spratly Policy, with Special Reference to the Philippines and Malaysia', Asian Survey, vol. 34, no. 10, 1994, pp. 893-903, on p. 894.

7 Muthiah Alagappa, ed., Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia: The Quest for Moral Authority. Part I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1995).

8 Leni Stenseth, Nationalism and Foreign Policy: The Case of China's Nansha Rhetoric. Thesis, University of Oslo, Department of Political Science, 1998.

9 Allan S. Whiting, `Chinese Nationalism and Foreign Policy after Deng', The China Quarterly, vol. 142, June 1995, pp. 297-315.

10 Nan Yang Yan Jiu, July 1991, pp. 11-18; on p. 18. This is in line with Ji Guoxing's argument in `China Versus South China Sea Security', Security Dialogue, vol. 29, no. 1, March 1998, pp. 101-112.

11 `Women di er guo tu' [Our Second Homeland], Guofang, April 1994, pp. 41-42, on p. 42.

12 Lee Lai To, `The South China Sea: China and Multilateral Dialogues', Security Dialogue, vol. 30, no. 2, June 1999, pp. 165-178.

13 Shi Jie Jingji Shibao, 17 June 1994, pp. 22-26; on p. 26.