Coming to the South China Sea: Russia's Lethal Su-35 Fighter?

Harry J. Kazianis

Security, Asia

Why things might be going from bad to worse in the South China Sea. 

Once again, the South China Sea is back in the news, and once again, it’s for all the wrong reasons.

The People’s Republic of China seems to have one crystal-clear objective: to dominate this important body of water to such an extent that they will be able to enforce what they call their “nine-dash-line” claim that incorporates almost the entire sea.

What comes after that is unclear. For example, would China stop any and all foreign military vessels from transiting, by force if necessary? Would Beijing kick out all so-called foreign fishing vessels? How far do Chinese claims of so-called “indisputable sovereignty” go? Know this—if trends continue, in the next few years, we might just find out.

But in all honesty, we are getting ahead of ourselves just a wee bit. In fact, there are several important steps that Beijing will need to follow before it can dominate this important body of water—and much of it involves control of the skies above.  

Indeed, without control of the air domain, China can’t dominant the seas and islands below. And while the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has certainly made big strides over the last twenty years, patrolling such a large area would be a challenge—until possibly now.

Thanks to Beijing’s recent creation of new islands in the South China Sea, along with three new large airfields, China is developing the bases it needs to patrol the skies above to enforce its claims.

Read full article