The Philippines confronts China in the South China Sea: Power politics vs. liberalism-legalism

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

International Studies

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Asian Perspective

Volume

39

Issue

1

First Page

71

Last Page

100

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Abstract

Using the Scarborough Shoal standoff between China and the Philippines as a case study, in this article I examine two approaches to addressing territorial disputes-power politics and liberalismlegalism. China, a major power, uses realpolitik to press its expansive claim in the South China Sea. The Philippines, a small power, adopts the liberal-legal approach that seeks to balance against China. During the standoff, China drove the Philippines out of the shoal, though stopping short of an armed clash, and effected a de facto occupation of the contested area. As a countermeasure, the Philippines filed a statement of claim with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The confrontation was a test of Thucydides's age-old aphorism that "the strong do what they have the power to do, and the weak accept what they have to accept".

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Digitial Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1353/apr.2015.0010

Disciplines

International Relations

Keywords

Boundary disputes; Philippines—Boundaries—China; China—Boundaries—Philippines; Philippines—Foreign relations—China; China—Foreign relations—Philippines

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