Maritime territorialisation as performance of sovereignty and nationhood in the South China Sea

Abstract

The South China Sea (SCS) is a conflict‐ridden international arena of rivalry between China, the USA, India, and the other ASEAN countries over sovereignty, resources and security. In this geopolitical clash China is the dominant force and Vietnam its main challenger. While most analysts assume that the various claims to the mostly uninhabited islands are motivated by the presence of submarine mineral resources, the conflicts evoke strong nationalist feelings in Vietnam and China, fuelled by narratives of the historical presence of fisheries and navies. By analysing the tension between complex territorial claims, new technologies and forms of knowledge applied by these states to delineate their material borders on the sea and vernacular notions of social space, this paper explores how sovereignty and nationality is enacted on a day‐to‐day basis. Thus, I argue that maritime territorialisation is a paradox of treating the sea as ‘land’ produced by the performance of a socially constructed image of the state geo‐body capitalising on strong nationalistic sentiments in China and Vietnam.

The parting of the seas: norms, material power and state control over the ocean

“…Although rights beyond the 12-nautical mile limit are fewer than before, both spaces are framed by governments as part of their territories. They frequently present the seas as part of national territories through historical narratives, literary creations, maps, naming of areas, school textbooks and slogans (Roszko 2015;Steinberg 2001, 32-38). As analysed in the case of the South China Sea by Roszko (2015, 230), both China and Vietnam treat maritime areas as though they were land, which is possible because the state image was previously constructed as a geo-body.…”

Geopolitics or Geobody Politics? Understanding the Rise of China and Its Actions in the South China Sea

“…Callahan highlights how maps are themselves manifestations of the biopolitics of national identity practice (Anderson 2006). An example of this may be found in how the safety of the fishing communities in the South China Sea is constantly invoked and used as a justification for increased security (Roszko 2015). The historical irony here is that while many of these communities were not strictly confined to any particular sovereign territory in pre-colonial Asia, not only are they now firmly part of a state but they are also mobilized as the very "stuff " of the "body politic" that needs to be defended at all costs.…”

Experimental Research on the Impact of Anchor-Cable Tensions in Mooring Ship at Vung Tau Anchorage Area

“…Currently, in universities, research institutes of maritime science in advanced countries around the world have focused on solving a series of problems around the impact of the ocean current (flow) on the ship. For example, studies evaluating the effects of the dynamics of the flow around the ship, the image of the hull profile to the propeller of the ship, the effects of waves, wind, … [18]However, studies on the influence of ocean currents on maneuvering ships [19], on the issue of drifting or breaking ties in anchorage are of little interest [20]. In Vietnam, many scientists and managers in the field of hydrodynamics have also developed and published several results related to the impact of ocean circulation in general on ships [21].…”