IMPACT OF THE CHINA COAST GUARD AND THE PEOPLE’S ARMED FORCES MARITIME MILITIA ON THE (IN)STABILITY OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
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Authors
Laca, Vincent S.
Subjects
South China Sea
China Coast Guard
People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia
China
Coast Guard
White Hull Diplomacy
Gray-Zone
China Coast Guard
People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia
China
Coast Guard
White Hull Diplomacy
Gray-Zone
Advisors
Dahl, Erik J.
Date of Issue
2022-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
According to many scholars, the worsening security situation in the South China Sea (SCS), is due to overlapping claims, the increased presence of maritime state forces in the SCS, and the competition for power between the United States and China in the region. This thesis attempts to contribute to these arguments by examining how China uses its China Coast Guard (CCG) and its People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) to advance and protect its claims in the SCS. Ultimately, this thesis finds the CCG and the PAFMM negatively impact the security situation in the SCS, as China uses them to advance and protect its contentious maritime claims. They contribute to the instability of the SCS through their growing capabilities and shift to defense-type missions as well as their subsequent aggressive and coercive behaviors toward other maritime forces and civilian ships in the SCS. In response, littoral states—along with great powers— should deter these aggressive and coercive actions of the CCG and the PAFMM in the SCS by jointly recognizing and treating the PAFMM as a state force, addressing the absence of agreed-upon guiding principles for responding to encounters between coast guards, intensifying security cooperation, and accepting calculated risks of escalation to influence China to reconsider its cost-benefit calculation of its actions in the SCS.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
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