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Quick growth of Chinese economy heralded a shift in the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific. In recent years China’s growing assertiveness, manifested by growing military presence in South China Sea, has been perceived as a major security challenge by most of the countries in the region. This situation is not simply a result of the recent changes in economic and political situation in the country, but rather a manifestation of a long history of building economic and political ties in the region and materialization of Chinese ambitions. It seems that China is finally able to materialize its long-time political ambitions in the region. Other security challenges like the nuclear program of North Korea and changing political situation in Myanmar attested to the increasing uncertainty of security situation in Asia which affects the global geopolitical landscape. Change of power in the United States, and Election of Donald Trump as American president in November 2016 was a signal of another shift in the regional security situation. New president following the slogan “America First” launched a process of renegotiating existing security treaties with Asian allies and presented a mare aggressive stance on China which very soon turned into a serious trade conflict. This monograph illustrates different aspects of these complex power shifts and their influence on the current geopolitical situation in the region.

China has a long history of fishing, trading, and settlement across the South China Sea. Recently, this maritime and economic history has been widely debated in Western countries as China reminds the world of her maritime heritage. Due to this disconnect, use of Western primary sources may be the key to unlocking the path for a common understanding of this history.

China’s effort to build itself up into a maritime superpower has drawn scholars’ attention. Questions arise whether the Chinese maritime turn can be considered in terms of potential destabilization of the maritime border in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean region, or rather, as a contributor to maintaining such an order. Those who believe that China’s maritime rise represents a destabilizing force, point at Beijing’s assertive posture in the East and South China seas. Other scholars argue, that Chinese navy (PLAN) has taken part in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief (HA/DR) and anti-piracy missions in the Indo-Pacific region, contributing to the international maritime cooperation. State-of-the-art analyses have focused either on China’s assertiveness, chiefly in regional seas, or on Beijing’s difficulties to catching up with a blue-water navy status in a global scenario. Rather than assuming China’s maritime projection as a uniform pattern, this study empasizes that Beijing pursues a twofold strategy. On regional waters, where its navy is capable of exercising effective military might, China operates assertively and does not seek multilateral cooperation. On the high seas, where PLAN’s forays suffer from weaker preparedness and training, Beijing has joined the international community in maintaining the world order. China pursued naval diplomacy efforts, as demonstrated by its participation in anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden since 2008 and its contribution to numerous HA/DR initiatives. China’s regional assertiveness and its global cooperative posture reinforce Beijing’s maritime projection.