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Whose 'Freedom of Navigation'? Australia, China, the United States and the making of order in the 'Indo-Pacific'
[journal article]
Abstract The so-called freedom of navigation through the Malacca straits and the South China Sea, some of the world's busiest trade routes, has long been of concern to scholars and practitioners of international politics in the region. Increasing tensions around territorial disputes recently propelled the is... view more
The so-called freedom of navigation through the Malacca straits and the South China Sea, some of the world's busiest trade routes, has long been of concern to scholars and practitioners of international politics in the region. Increasing tensions around territorial disputes recently propelled the issue to the forefront of global foreign and security policy making. Yet, despite the frequent invocation of threats to the 'freedom of navigation' for the justification of military measures to protect the 'liberal rules-based order', the substance of this rule or norm remains ambiguous and the nature of the threatened order unclear. Located at the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Australian discourses represent a suitable case for clarifying both. Starting from the original provisions on navigational regimes in international law, this study analyses the meanings that officials, think tank analysts and academics have been attributing to the freedom of navigation and contextualize them in the evolving debate about order. Focusing on political rather than legal discourses, it finds that concerns with the freedom of navigation are largely unrelated to the safety of maritime transport. Instead, they serve as proxy for an increasingly static imagination of international order - written backward in time - to be secured.... view less
Keywords
shipping; shipping lane; Indian Ocean; Australia; maritime law; China; United States of America; Oceania; international relations; seas; international system; world trade; law of nations; international security
Classification
International Relations, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, Development Policy
Free Keywords
Schifffahrtsfreiheit; Weltmeere; territoriale Streitigkeit; Seeverkehr; internationale Ordnung
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
Page/Pages
p. 475-504
Journal
The Pacific Review, 32 (2019) 4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2018.1515788
ISSN
1470-1332
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed