Graduation Year
2024
Date of Submission
4-2024
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
International Relations
Reader 1
Jennifer Taw
Reader 2
Minxin Pei
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2024 Letian Wang
Abstract
The South China Sea (SCS) dispute is a longstanding territorial conflict involving several surrounding states. In this paper, I analyze the differences in China’s policies towards the Philippines and Vietnam as China exerts its expansion into the SCS using relevant International Relations theories. The Philippines’ democratic values, alliance with the U.S., small-scale volume of trade with China, and active strategies against China all contradict China’s interests to be the regional hegemonic power. In contrast, Vietnam’s socialist regime, alliance with China, substantial trade with China, and passive strategies do not contradict China’s interests as much and even comply with them. Hence, China has adopted much more aggressive strategies on the Philippines than on Vietnam in the SCS dispute.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Letian, "China’s Strategic Calculus: A Comparative Analysis of China’s Approaches Towards The Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea Dispute" (2024). CMC Senior Theses. 3564.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3564
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