NORWICH 2021 PEACE & WAR VIRTUAL SUMMIT: U.S.-China maritime disputes in the South China Sea

The United States and China are engaged in a battle of power politics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville professor Krista Wiegand argued, using legal claims to justify military action.

Tetchy incidents have mounted. In March 2021, China sending more than 200 fishing boats into Philippines-claimed territory. Philippine officials told Reuters they believed Chinese military-trained personnel were piloting the boats and called their presence a breach of their nation’s maritime rights.

In July 2021, China’s claimed it “drove out” an American guided-missile destroyer, USS Benfold, which was sailing near the Paracel Islands on a freedom-of-navigation operation. The United States hotly disputed the claims.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam have staked claims to the archipelago; the Chinese have built several military outposts there.

In this presentation, Wiegand examines bubbling South China Seas tensions and their implications for the United States, China and other nations. She claims the United States and China have used legal claims to justify their saber rattling and military activities.

Moderator: Dr. David Ulbrich, Norwich University
Presenter: Krista Wiegand, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Presenter: Hayoun Jessie Ryou-Ellison, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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