China and the South China Sea

China and the South China Sea region will play an important role in global and US strategic policy for the foreseeable future. China is an upcoming global economic power, the US and other nations must become cognizant of China's motivations in the South China Sea in order to avoid conflict, which seems inevitable. This book discusses China's conflicts in the South China Sea; specifically the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Taiwan, ASEAN, and US Navy. Insight into the evolution of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will allow readers to better understand China's motivations. Critical to all this is China's history and claims in the region, which begins to paint a picture that the PLAN are operating under a principle very similar to the Monroe Doctrine. Lastly, the book will demonstrate that the Chinese version of the Monroe Doctrine as well the country's desire to establish dominance in the South China Sea, which she sees as her "lost territory", is derived from the fear of an encirclement strategy implemented by the US and a nascent US-backed collective security regime, ASEAN.