Alfred Thayer Mahan, who served as a US Navy admiral and president of the Naval War College, played a decisive role in changing the world history of the United States, and traced the history and strategy of the sea in a three-dimensional and clear manner, enabling the United States to play a role in every region of the world today, according to his book. China also analyses and studies Alfred Thayer Mahan's book and argues that it should strengthen control over the region related to its destiny and interests. Accordingly, we believe that we should strengthen our maritime rights to protect the wide waters up to the first line of islands as a top priority. The reasons for this are as follows.
First, the first island chain is directly related to China's security issues. The United States is allied with Japan to counter China's expansion of its maritime claims near the first island chain, and it believes that it must secure a strong and aggressive naval capability that can control at least most of the coastal waters to maintain a strategic balance. The United States is increasing its pre-emptive strike posture in response to China's rise, while countries such as Japan are expanding their presence in the region. In response, China is making every effort to strengthen its territorial waters to defend itself from these countries, and it is also including South Korea in the scope of hostile countries.
Second, they believe that the marine resources in the waters off China's coast are very important to their country's future economic development. The Chinese government believes that the exploit ation of marine resources in its coastal waters is related to its continued economic development, and that all sovereign rights and interests recognized under international law extend to its coastal waters. In addition, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the area of the sea of about 3 million km2 is not only small compared to the ocean areas of the United States, Japan, Russia and India, but also disproportionate in relation to the population.
Third, China sees its own coastal waters as linked not only to its destiny, development and glory, but also to its dignity as a great power. China also believes that the United States is constantly conducting intelligence and reconnaissance activities in its surrounding waters, using means such as submarines and ships, and that its economic activities in the surrounding waters are being hindered. In particular, in the East China Sea and South China Sea, where the possibility of disputes is increasing, there are reports of interference by countries such as Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as oil and gas field operations and surveys.
Another reason why the Chinese government is strengthening the First Island Chain is to secure dominance in the West Sea and prevent the emergence of a hostile regime on the Korean Peninsula. It also wants to pursue cross-strait reunification by securing a maritime zone that allows it to control the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters. And it wants to expand its maritime territory in the South China Sea and maintain its substantial interests by exercising political and economic influence in the region.
