Mémoire
| Résumé : | The thesis analyzes the United States’ naval strategy in the South China Sea during the presidency of Donald Trump, from a security perspective. The goal is to examine the balancing naval strategy of the United States taking into consideration both of its aspects: the “internal balancing” and the “external balancing.” It argues that the United Stated has a balancing naval strategy vis-à-vis China in the South China Sea due to the Trump administration’s strategic responses to the evolving context of the of the region. To accomplish this analysis, it is necessary to briefly describe the notion of Sea Power, the United States’ interests in the South China Sea, and most importantly to elaborate conceptual definitions for the notions that are used in this paper.Based on the Realism and the Structural Realism theories within the International Relation discipline, the study examines the American military performance and its political influence on the behavior of adversaries, allies, and strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific. Leader in Sea Power, the United States recognized the People’s Republic of China as a threat and implemented a security strategy to contain China’s rise and maintain their maritime hegemony. The thesis focuses on the Trump administration’ whole-of-government blueprint toward the South China Sea that prioritized a long-term strategic competition with Beijing stated in official documents publication, and built-up its military strength to maintain a high-level defensive posture (internal naval balancing). It also emphases the United States’ military alliances and security partnerships with the Quad States; Japan, Australia, India and Vietnam and Taiwan, as well as its dispersed military installations all of which have strengthened the United States’ preemptive defensive posture and reinforced the implementation of its strategy in the region (external naval balancing). |
