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Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China
" fulfilling security commitments-fulfilling U.S. security commitments in the
Western Pacific, including treaty commitments;
" maintaining regional security architecture-maintaining and enhancing the
U.S.-led security architecture in the Western Pacific, including U.S. security
relationships with treaty allies and partner states;
" maintaining favorable regional balance of power-maintaining a regional
balance of power that is favorable to the United States and its allies and partners;
and
" preventing emergence of a regional hegemon-preventing China from
becoming a regional hegemon in East Asia, and potentially as part of that,
preventing China from controlling or dominating the ECS or SCS.
In terms of identifying specific actions that are intended to support U.S. policy goals, a key
element would be to have a clear understanding of which actions are intended to support which
goals, and to maintain an alignment of actions with policy goals. For example, U.S. freedom of
navigation (FON) operations can directly support the second potential policy goal above, but
might support the other policy goals only indirectly, marginally, or not at all.
On the basis of the above notional framework, potential oversight questions for Congress in
assessing the Administration's strategy for countering China's salami-slicing strategy include the
following:
" Policy goals. Has the Administration clearly identified and articulated a set of
U.S. policy goals? If so, are the Administration's goals appropriate? Should other
goals be added? Should some be dropped or modified? Has the Administration
established adequate benchmarks or measures of success in achieving U.S. policy
goals?
" Actions. Has the Administration identified adequate actions for supporting U.S.
policy goals? Has the Administration implemented those actions at an appropriate
pace? Has the Administration maintained a clear alignment between actions and
policy goals?
" Results. How effective have the Administration's actions been in supporting U.S.
goals? Should the current U.S. strategy for countering China's salami-slicing
tactics be continued, ended, or modified?
U.S. Actions During Obama Administration
Overview
In apparent response to China's "salami-slicing" strategy, the United States during the Obama
Administration took a number of actions, including the following:
" reiterating the U.S. position on maritime territorial claims in the area in various
public fora;
" expressing strong concerns about China's land reclamation and facilities-
construction activities, and calling for a halt on such activities by China and other
countries in the region;
" taking steps to improve the ability of the Philippines and Vietnam to maintain
maritime domain awareness (MDA) and patrol their EEZs;Congressional Research Service
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O'Rourke, Ronald. Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, report, August 17, 2017; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1020870/m1/44/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.