"Abstract: This paper analyzes the South China Sea dispute when the international system lacks orientation and respect for the norms, values, and institutions. The conflict is conceptualized to encompass the States, International Law, and the East Asia order. The evidence demonstrates that ASEAN’s regional order is more efficient than the US-Led Liberal order through UNCLOS. Additionally, it is necessary to overhaul and strengthen the institutional mechanisms from international law regarding the United Nations. A change in the order and an international recognition are recommended to legitimize regional institutions to arbitrate territorial disputes. Keywords: ASEAN, regional order, conflict resolution, South China Sea Dispute."

Constantly analyzed in scientific, theoretical, and empirical studies, the “ Asian Mediterranean” region has received renewed attention as a consequence of the rise of China. China’s emergence combines its strong economic dynamic with increased confidence, positioning it as a potential regional hegemony. On that conceptual basis, this study aims to answer whether a power transition has already occurred in the South China Sea and how the process of a regional hegemonic transition took place. Through an examination of the instruments used by the United States and China to exercise power, articulated with the power transition theory, it establishes that a transition in the South China Sea dispute could have already occurred. However, the study disclaims that Beijing’s evolution and sudden change of behavior aim to overthrow the U.S. global leadership but rather intends to reclaim its position of regional hegemony.

The common contention regarding the South China Sea is that its characteristic assets are the central or even the sole explanation for the debate. However, it is the argument of this study that this view is distorted and perilously deceptive. This study argues that there are multiple explanations for these territorial disputes and that they are significantly complicated by the proximity of a few players, the ascent of powerful new forces, the impact of financial power, the dispersion of military and political power, and geopolitical rivalry in Asia. The Unites States views China as a threat to its global hegemony and so has a policy of ‘containment’. In the context of the South China Sea, its policies therefore are not intended to resolve disputes in a mutually beneficial way, but to limit China’s influence. This forces countries to ‘choose sides’ rather than engage in mutually beneficial trade. The policy has now also led to a trade war, which could escalate into a military confrontation. This investigation examines the progression of this debate by taking into consideration the various geostrategic, geo-economics, and geopolitical interests of the parties involved and suggests a fundamental paradigm shift in the direction of research to be more conducive toward finding a realistic and peaceful resolution to the disputes in the South China Sea.

The following study analyzes the exercise of power by both the United States and China in their confrontation for hegemonic dominance. Through observational and qualitative methods, an examination of the mechanisms underlying China's strategic statecraft and how it implements its exercise of power reveals its genesis and how it contested and controlled the order in Southeast Asia. Navigating through economic indicators, the research determines that the decline of American power is a myth, but it establishes a decline in its influence and prestige arising from its strategic and tactical choices. The study identified multiple systemic contingencies and political irrationalities for the non-realization of systemic unipolarity, resulting in a nonpolar world. It concludes that neither the incomparable military power of the United States nor the greater economic power of China has, in the contemporary world, fundamental comparative advantages for achieving systemic hegemony.

This study attempts to better understand the geopolitical, geostrategic, and geo-economic underpinnings behind the USA’s so-called “Pivot to Asia” by analyzing the dynamics behind the South China Sea dispute. The emergence of Asia as the power epicenter of the world is the defining paradigm shift of our time; and China’s meteoric economic rise was the determining factor behind this repositioning of geopolitical polarity. The study analyzes this dispute from the perspectives of the Containment Theory, Assumptions, Geo-Economic Strategies and Power. It also points out solutions to the conflict through international law and cooperation. Finally, emphasizes the importance of both, the geostrategic point of view and a geopolitical standpoint and has demonstrated that the US policy strategies towards Asia and the SCS are not helpful at all. Instead of focusing on containing China, the US should embrace China as a trading partner and become a neutral player in matters of the region including South China Sea.