China's military modernization, Japan's normalization and the South China Sea territorial disputes

摘要

In China's military modernization, Japan's normalization and the South China Sea territorial disputes, Zenel Garcia explains how China's securitization and military modernization have influenced disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). Garcia successfully analyses SCS disputes by investigating the perceptions and strategies of multiple actors-China, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam-and discusses the security dilemma with the appropriate historical political context. He assesses how the increasing threat from China has affected Japan's normalization process using the Securitization Theory framework. Garcia also provides a critical evaluation of the Philippines' and Vietnam's defence strategies to confront China's aggressive foreign policy.