Publication

This paper focuses on the changing distribution of power in the South China Sea and assesses its implications for conflict management and avoidance. It notes a growing asymmetry of naval power to the advantage of China, and discusses the concern that this raises in Southeast Asian capitals. The author discusses how Southeast Asian nations have traditionally sought to mitigate the unequal power distribution in the South China Sea through a particular model of conflict management, and highlights the limits of this model in the current context of rising power asymmetry.