Research On The Direction Of Games Between Stakeholders Of The South China Sea And Strategic Choices Of China

Sovereignty of the South China Sea is China’s core national interest, and the SouthChina Sea dispute is an urgent problem that must be solved in China’s political anddiplomatic policy. The game of China and neighboring countries in the South ChinaSea as the main stakeholders has been existing across two centuries for nearly70years. The end of the Cold War and the new changes of the international politicalsituation neither brings about new opportunities and positive energy to solute the issueof the South China Sea, but makes it more complex and sharply expand from aregional hotspot to a international hotspot. The disputes of the stakeholders becomemore intense, accompany with some new situations and characteristics, which resultsin that the game between stakeholders of the South China Sea and the problemsolving are full of uncertainties and variables. Therefore, in order to provide somereferences and inspiration to promote a peaceful solution of the South China Seadispute, this thesis focuses on the crux of the South China Sea issue, the history andpolicy of stakeholders, the features and posture of the game in the South China Seaand China’s strategic choice.This thesis is based on geopolitical theory, written in a perspective of the game ofinterests, mainly researching on direction of games between stakeholders of the SouthChina Sea and strategic choices of China. Since the end of the Cold War, the worldhas undergone tremendous changes in economic and political situation. In the criticalperiod of the in-depth development of China’s reform and opening-up and theimplementation of the strategy of marine power, with the atmosphere of fear ofChina’s Rise in neighboring countries, this thesis is of great theoretical and practicalsignificance and academic value which contains four parts.Chapter one is the literature review of basic theories to analyze the direction of gamesbetween stakeholders of the South China Sea and strategic choices of China,illuminating relevant concepts of the South China Sea dispute and the stakeholders ofSouth China Sea, and indicating that the geopolitical theory, national interest theoryand game theory are theoretical support and analytical methods to research this issue.Chapter two analyzes the origin of the South China Sea dispute, the interest demands of stakeholders and the historical process of their games. The important geopoliticalvalue is a huge incentive for the stakeholders to intervene in the South China Seadispute. They regard the South China Sea as a platform or starting point for theinterests of national, regional and global interests, which is the fundamental reasonwhy the issue has been heated up.Chapter three presents a thorough inquiry on the influencing factors, the basicproposition and the trend of the policies of stakeholder of the South China Sea. Itconsiders that the current game policies and trend stakeholders of the South China Seaare not only influenced by some changes in the international economic and politicalsituation, but also by their domestic political and economic circumstances. In thefuture, the games between stakeholders of the South China Sea may become moreintense, and even lead to some accidental discharges, but maintenance of the statusquo, peaceful dialogue and political compromise will continue to be the main tone.In chapter four, the author puts forward some strategic countermeasures for China. Itmainly contains the following viewpoints. The safety of sovereignty and maximizingthe benefits are the aims of the game. The innovation of diplomatic theory and policyis the soul of the game. Enhancing the comprehensive national strength and the imageis the key to the game. Peaceful dialogue and mutual benefit are the fundamentalways to the game. The flexibility of policy and the diversity of approaches are themethod of the game.The present research has relatively new perspectives and thoughts in the research onthe direction of games between stakeholders of the South China Sea and strategicchoices of China. However, some limitations also exist. This thesis will be revised andimproved in the future.