Dire Straits: National Security Competition Between China and the United States in the Strait of Malacca

Abstract

GJAA covers topics pertinent to Central, Northeast, Southeast, and South Asia, combining policy prescriptions, academic research, and pedagogical insights on Asia.

The Strait of Malacca is a point of convergence for the dynamic environment of piracy, terrorism, energy security, and naval cooperation in maritime Asia. In order to understand the various forces shaping the security situation in the Strait, this paper analyzes the roles that China and the United States play in the region. It advances an argument that Chinese expansion will lead to a comparative rise in China’s position, but that ultimately the Strait will remain a theater for international balancing. A careful analysis of Chinese naval doctrine, as well as examination of secondary sources that explore regional military engagement and economic factors, present the Strait of Malacca as a passageway of wary stasis between the two superpowers.