Control of the sea by maritime commerce and naval supremacy means predominant influence in the world.
This concept of sea power, a doctrine championed by the most important American strategist of the 19th century Alfred Thayer Mahan, remains the core of United States maritime security agenda for over 100 years and is the foundation of US policy on South China Sea claims, according to distinguished law professor and director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (IMLOS) at the University of the Philippines Dr. Jay L. Batongbacal.
At any rate, probably the situation in the South China Sea “has gotten a little bit worse, temperature has heightened” because a particular interest of the US – based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide impact – appears to have been now directly challenged by China.
It is important to understand this doctrine of sea power in order to establish America’s current and future roles in the South China Sea dispute and, according to Batongbacal, “to give us a better idea of the future directions, parameters, limitations and feasibility that we can expect from US maritime security policy and how it relates to our own maritime security issues.”
MANILA BULLETIN
