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IFANS FOCUS Chinese-Installed Structures in the West Sea and Gray Zone Strategy: Patterns and Counter-MeasuresChinese-Installed Structures in the West Sea and Gray Zone Strategy: Patterns and Counter-Measures 반길주 국제안보통일연구부 조교수 발행일 2025-05-30 조회수 16221
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1. Overview: The West Sea and Gray Zone Strategies
2. The Trajectory of China’s Attempts to Claim the West Sea
3. Two Driving Forces Behind China’s Reinforced Attempts to Claim in the West Sea
4. The Probability of China's Use of the West Sea Structures and Effective Plan 


< Executive summary > 

As China escalates the installation of structures in the West Sea, the maritime security issue has been brought into the spotlight. Yet, such a campaign is part of gray zone strategies, the execution of which has been underway for a long time. The installed structures represent China’s attempt to make the West Sea its backyard, which also plays a role in circumvention strategies, allowing for continued coercion against South Korea and complicating its response by controlling the thresholds involved. In the 1980s, China aimed to assert its claims over the West Sea using island chain strategies. Starting in 2010, the Chinese government stepped up its gray zone maneuvers, blatantly expressing its intention to claim the West Sea as part of its territory. Alternatively, propelled by two driving forces – the unfolding of strategic opportunities with the initiation of the second Trump administration, and the successful incorporation of the South China Sea into its territorial domain – China has markedly intensified its aggression in an effort to achieve its gray zone objectives in the West Sea. It is highly probable that the West Sea installations will evolve through three stages: (1) the early stage of a mooring hub, (2) the mid-stage of a tactical base, and (3) the completed stage of a strategic base. Thus, Korea should systematically address China’s assertive measures in the West Sea by developing a whole-of-government approach that integrates the first plan (black-and-white zones) with the second plan (maritime confidence-building measures), clearly outlining its commitment to safeguarding maritime interests and national security. In this regard, the Korean government is urged to formulate an operationally balanced infrastructure with China. As a preliminary step to the establishment of an organized and balanced infrastructure, a maritime security control tower should be instituted at the national level as well. 

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  #China #SouthChinaSea #MaritimeSecurity #GrayZone
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IFANS FOCUS 2025-13E(반길주).pdf
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