Human Security Implications of the Sino-American Conflict in the Western Pacific

In politics, the use of the term security means that a certain issue is above the regular boundaries of a political discourse. Securitization is a more extreme form of this scenario, where a security threat is presented as an existential threat. Examining historical events through the lens of securitization shows how different issues have been securitized at different points in history. For instance, the battle between democracy and communism during the Cold War can be seen as the securitization of political ideologies by the United States and the Soviet Union. The end of the Cold War left a security vacuum that various political scientists attempted to fill. Francis Fukuyama argued that the end of Cold War marked the end of ‘History’, implying there would be no more major conflicts in the world. Others, such as Samuel Huntington securitized civilizations in the concept now known as the Clash of Civilizations. At the same time, the United Nations – led by Pakistani international development theorist Mahbub-ul-Haq – securitized the human being by presenting the concept of human security. While the concept of human security had existed as early as the 1960s, it was the work of Mahbub and his team that popularized it. Since then, several issues in the world have been presented under the paradigm of human security. The article attempts to apply the same principle to the emerging strategic conflict between the United States and China in the Western Pacific. It first explores potential human security implications of the present US- China struggle for supremacy in the Western Pacific before going into the possible responses by both stakeholders.

Human Security Concerns in the Far East

The Human Development Report of 1994 links human security to the protection of human life and dignity. The report argues that the basic concept of human security should focus on the universal concern of human security, irrespective of financial or social status of individuals concerned. The components of human security include economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security and political security. These components are human-centric and interdependent, and the best way to ensure them is by focusing on prevention instead of intervention.

The concept of human security is the new paradigm that is used by policy makers to predict the short- and long-term effects of their proposed actions. Moreover, in events such as humanitarian interventions, human security is used as the basis of making certain policies. While analyzing the United States – China strategic conflict in the Western Pacific under the paradigm of human security, it is important to identify potential human security issues that may arise due to the conflict. There is a major gap in research related to human security implications due to a potential conflict. Traditionally, researchers have looked back at major events to look at the human security issues that arose from them. The article aims to adopt a forward-looking approach at the matter by predicting likely implications, and how each party might approach these implications. Some of the potential issues that may arise are as follows:

Economic Security

The fisheries in the South China Sea are the source of livelihood for millions of people in the region. Moreover, these fisheries also create employment opportunities for those employed in the food processing sectors. Therefore, a clash in the South China Sea can endanger the economic security of these individuals.

Food Security

Fish and marine food make up a significant portion of the diets of people in East Asia. Threats to marine catch can result in food shortages for millions of people. Moreover, the interlinked nature of human security issues can also result in food shortages due to economic insecurity.

Political Security

Most governments in East Asia are not known for their promotion of democratic values and political freedoms. In case of a conflict, the governments of these nations are likely to securitize the decision-making process, and hence, take away political rights and curb political freedoms.

East meets West: Differences in Approach to Human Security

In order to predict the possible responses of both the Chinese and the Americans to human security concerns in the Far East, it is important to understand that both sides view the concept differently due to cultural and civilizational differences.

In the case of China, some domestic aspects of human security such as poverty and social security receive tremendous attention from the government and academicians. Despite this, the traditional eastern concept of security views national security as an instrumental part of human security. According to this concept, states are instruments of human security, and hence, national security and state sovereignty are vital ingredients that cannot be compromised. This is because in Eastern societies, ideals of collective interests take precedence over individual rights and interests. Hence, the Chinese are likely to adopt a state- centric approach to potential human security implications and place Chinese national interests before anything else.

The case of the United State is more complex because the Western concept of human security is highly idealistic. This means that the American people, as well as allies of the United States, would expect the US to act in a manner that ensures the individual rights of the people in potential conflict zones are not violated. However, history shows us that state’s practices and ideals do not always align and this is especially true in the case of the United States. True to the Thucydidean dilemma of justice versus interests, the US almost always chooses the latter. Based on this, one can hypothesize that the United States is not likely to be bothered by human security issues faced by Chinese citizens due to a potential clash with China. However, what makes the matter more complex is that the US is allied with most of China’s neighbours. This means that it cannot completely overlook human security issues faced by these countries. Hence, it is safe to theorize that the human security issues in East Asia can be a challenge to the United States’ national interests.

Conclusion

In October 2006, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was leading a US Naval Super Carrier Group in the East China Sea, when without warning, a Chinese submarine surfaced in the middle of the group. The United States was enraged at what they saw as a sign or provocation by the Chinese. From the Chinese perspective, the move was a declaration of their intent to control the waters close to their shore. As China continues to grow and seeks to become a regional hegemon, the United States, the world’s sole regional hegemon, is likely to pursue its historical policy of preventing peer competitors. This is already evidenced by the stated US policy of a “Pivot to Asia”, as well as the Trump administration’s trade war with China. As these two goliaths prepare to take on each other, both are likely to ignore human security implications of their actions. While the Chinese policy will be dictated by the collectivist nature of the Eastern culture; the American policy will be dictated by their historical trend of placing their national interest above everything else.