The Dao of foreign policy: Understanding China’s dual strategy in the South China Sea

ABSTRACT

In the South China Sea, China neither implements power-maximizing policy nor engages a peaceful approach. Instead, China implements both coercion and cooperation in pursuing its strategic interest in the disputed area. How can we explain China’s paradoxical behavior? This article claims that the best way to explain China’s policy in the South China Sea is to understand the character of dualism in China’s strategic culture. Following constructivist theory that stresses culture, this article argues that Chinese duality approach in the South China Sea is rooted in the philosophy of Daoism. The symbol of Yin-Yang depicts Chinese assertive as well as cooperative behavior in dealing with the South China Sea dispute. Although from a normative perspective Daoism recognizes pacifism and non-violent behavior, the most important feature of Daoism is the assumption that reality consists of two opposing elements that are mutually embedded.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese foreign policy
• dual strategy
• South China Sea
• strategic culture
• Daoism

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 4th International Conference on Chinese-Indonesian Studies (ICCIS) “China’s Impact on Southeast Asia and Its Diasporic Communities: Past, Present, Future,” Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, August 22–24, 2017. The author would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their critical and constructive comments. He would also like to thank Andi Akhmad Basith Dir for proofreading the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Mohamad Rosyidin is a lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Diponegoro. He teaches Introduction to IR, IR theories, foreign policy analysis, Southeast Asian studies, and security studies. His research interests include Indonesia’s foreign policy, constructivism IR theory, culture and foreign policy, security in Southeast Asia, and non-Werstern IR theory. He is the author of the book The Power of Ideas: Konstruktivisme dalam Studi Hubungan Internasional (2015) and has published articles in East Asia, South East Asia Research, Asia-Pacific Social Science Review, Indonesian Quarterly, as well as online magazines such as The Diplomat and Strategic Review.

Notes

1. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Sanskrit: Panchsheel) were first set forth by Zhou Enlai during the agreement between China and India from December 1953 to April 1954. It consists of five norms of international relations: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.