“The Sino-Russian Approach to the Maritime: A Mare Clausem System?” is the title of a paper by Dr. John Hemmings for Security Nexus. This article highlights how the increase in resources and focus gives US forces the ability to push back and fight in the information domain, a space where Russia and China are increasing the tempo.

Abstract:
The current global order is based on the free and open maritime trading order, giving access to all seafaring nations. The “openness” of this order, concepts such as “international waters” were not inevitable and there are historical instances of states – such as Spain and Portugal in the 15th Century – attempting to build a closed maritime system. This paper asks if that approach is the same being taken by China in the South China Sea and by Russia in the Arctic, with the author offering arguments why that might be so.

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Dr. John Hemmings is a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) in Honolulu, USA. The views expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the DKI APCSS or the United States Government.

Security Nexusis a peer-reviewed, online journal published by the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.