Examining the U.S. Freedom of Navigation Program: An Embarrassing Gunboat Diplomacy?
The Freedom of Navigation Program is the US foreign diplomacy for challenging other nations’ excessive maritime claim defined by Washington since late 1970s or, more precisely, early 1980s. This policy is basically directed by the executive directives granted by the President of the United States. A...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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National Sun Yat-sen University
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://icaps.nsysu.edu.tw/var/file/131/1131/img/CCPS6(2)-Chang.pdf |
| Summary: | The Freedom of Navigation Program is the US foreign diplomacy for challenging other nations’ excessive maritime claim defined by Washington since late 1970s or, more precisely, early 1980s. This policy is basically directed by the executive directives granted by the President of the United States. All the tasks of this program are jointly conducted by the State Department, Department of Defense and Department of Transportation and later by the Department of Homeland Security after the Coast Guard was shifted to the DHS after 911. Nonetheless, the whole program known as the FONOP, Freedom of Navigation Operations, is directed and oversighted by the US National Security Advisor. The author would like to examine the true intention and influences of the FONOP from all the policy directives and statements ever expressed by the US government in various forms. All the annual reports regarding the actual practices of this FONOP policy will also be reviewed in order to understand the realities through substantial policy implementations. The basic research methodology of this paper is the document survey. By comparing and interpreting various US government documents, the author will try to identify the true intention of this policy and the categories of excessive maritime claims and their corresponding claimants, which are the targeted nations by the US FONOP. Whether the State Department has ever well-coordinated with the United States armed forces delivered by the Pentagon or Coast Guard is another aspect the author of this research paper would like to grasp in this paper. Whether the FONOP may link with events ever happened in various periods of time as a part of integrated diplomacy towards specific nation is another research interest that the author would like to discuss. The author will also focus on the gap between the open statements that have been released by the Pentagon and the actual executive directives granted by the President of the United States, and particularly, whether the diplomacy that has been associated with the military operations could be appropriate or not. There are many general misperceptions regarding the FONOP. Especially, the widely agreed international law principle of the freedom of high sea that contains the concept of freedom of navigation and other legitimate privileges is not consistent with the ideas shown by the US FONOP as it always openly stated. Washington executed the FONOP according to its own interpretation of the international law but not under any common understanding ever achieved in the international society. That is, the FONOP is basically related to the US national interest, not the international justice at all. In recent years, the South China Sea is the focus for the United States to exercise its FONOP. The author would like examine whether any constructive results have been created by the US FONOP that enhance the international welfares as many people still misperceived these so far. The author expects all the readers of this research paper will eventually have a more comprehensive perception of the US FONOP policy as a statecraft exercised by the US government, never an effort to secure the regional stability or the collective interest of any party in the region. |
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| ISSN: | 2410-9681 2410-9681 |