The Pacific

The Pacific, a place of many cultures and differences. It's also a place of great power where great interests follow. The Pacific makes up a third of the world's oceans. The Pacific contains an estimate of 25,000 islands, ignoring the mainland coastlines. The worlds greatest powers all have vested interests in the Pacific, these include; Russia, U.S, China, India, Japan, Korea and Britain. This complex sphere of mixed influence ultimately leads to territorial disputes over the smallest pieces of land which are surrounded by an abundance of resources. 

Archibald Ross a British sailor/engineer author of 'The Mastery of the Pacific' published in 1902, here is an extract from the conclusion of the book. 

"Among the most significant features of the situation which mark the beginning of a new century is the advent of Russia, coming overland, on the Pacific littoral, where she has acquired an important seaboard with good harbours and a maritime population. On the other hand, we have the sudden appearance of the United States, coming over-sea, and establishing herself in a large, populous, and important archipelago on the borders of Asia. Thus the greatest Autocracy and the greatest Democracy meet in the Far East, and the question of their future relations is one of the most interesting raised by our study of the situation. Will the United States, abandoning the policy by which her foreign relations have hitherto been guided, follow the example of Britain, or will she consider what may be termed her immediate material interests and give the support of her contenance (repression) to Russia by following out to a logical conclusion the Monroe Doctrine? That Russia desires to apply such a doctrine to all Northern Asia is not to be doubted, and if the United States in her new sphere should take a similar view of her own interests, we may yet see the two Great Powers of the Future, the Great Autocracy and the Great Democracy, Slav and Teuton, dominating the Far and the Farthest East as two gigantic Trusts.

The future of China is a momentous question, and one of great importance in the Mastery of the Pacific. The question includes not only the internal evolution of the Great Empire, but the problems in connection with labour-supply." 

The book goes on to say that "It has been said already that naval supremacy will decide the Mastery of the Pacific, and by that expression is meant not mere forcible domination, but the maintenance of commercial rights, the control of communications, and the dictation of a policy favourable to the ambitions of the successful Power or Powers. The naval development of the United States and Japan will be the earliest outcome of the situation, and other Powers, hitherto regarded as chiefly military, are already straining in the same direction. Whatever may be the success of their efforts, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States possess natural advantages which will count for much 
if properly utilised."

Kuril Islands

Considering this book was written 100 years ago it could not be more relevant to today. Two days ago the Russian coast guard detained 36 Chinese fishermen after a 3 hour chase in the Sea of Japan. The Chinese vessel had a haul of 22.5 metric tons of squid. The Russians resorted to firing warning shots at the Chinese boats which had entered Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone without the paperwork allowing them to do so. In 2009 Russia sank a Chinese boat it suspected of smuggling, killing 7 people.   Russia and Japan are both involved in a dispute over the Kuril Islands. In 2008 Moscow gave China Tarabarov Island and half of the Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island located in Russia's Eastern Amur region. 

Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands

China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines are all engaged in a dispute over the Spratly and Paracel Islands as well as the Scarborough Shoal. Japan and China are also in dispute over the Senkaku Island's. Japan announced her intentions of purchasing the Senkaku Islands, China refers to these as the Diaoyu Island's.  

China seized the Paracel's from Vietnam in a brief naval conflict in 1974, up to 53 Vietnamese and 18 Chinese sailors were killed. In 1988 another skirmish was fought over the Spratly Islands where 70 Vietnamese troops were gunned down whilst standing waist deep in water on a bar of rock at sea, no Chinese were killed (watch the video below). Just 5 years after the Battle of the Paracel Islands China and Vietnam fought a bloody 28 day border war this time on land with a death toll totalling nearly 60,000. 

The Philippines and Vietnam announced earlier this year that they plan to hold 'war games' near the Spratly's which could include the Thai navy. 

Pag-asa Island

Earlier this month on July 2nd the U.S carried out joint naval drills with it's ally the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. Singapore based U.S Admiral Carney was quoted saying “We’re long way from South China Sea. Nothing in this (joint) exercise would be provocative. We are here because the Philippines is a treaty ally,” via philSTAR. Today 20th July a Chinese navy landing ship was spotted on the Subi Reef occupied by China, just 14 miles from Pag-asa Island. Pag-asa is a Filipino occupied island. 


Earlier this year the U.S announced a shift in it's military strategy, focussing on the Pacific region. The U.S plans to send 2500 troops to Darwin, in April the first batch of 200 troops arrived in the North Australian city. Although Australia stresses this deployment is not directed at China, Darwin is almost perfectly geographically opposite to China's Hainan Island.

These disputes are mostly derived from either WW2 and other major conflicts in modern history like the Third Indochina War. One recurring factor of these claims is China and its expected territories of ancient times. It will take either another major conflict to hammer the final say or political dialogue which at present looks more than complicated. At the recent ASEAN summit meeting in Cambodia the bloc of nations failed to issue a joint statement for the first time 45 years. 

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