![Spratly_with_flags](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Spratly_with_flags.jpg)
China's salami slicing (;
[Robert Barnett]
China Is Building Entire Villages in Another Country’s Territory
Foreign Policy, 7 May 2021.) is a strategy by which the
government of China
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an Authoritarianism, authoritarian political system in the China, People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of Leg ...
uses small provocations, none of which would constitute a ''
casus belli
A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...
'' by itself, but cumulatively produce a much larger action or result in China's favor which would have been difficult or unlawful to perform all at once.
In 1996, a
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...
report on the
territorial disputes in the South China Sea
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, Ph ...
wrote, "
analysts point to Chinese "
salami tactics
Salami slicing tactics, also known as salami slicing, salami tactics, the salami-slice strategy, or salami attacks, is the practice of using a series of many small actions to produce a much larger action or result that would be difficult or unlawf ...
," in which China is said to test the other claimants through aggressive actions, then back off when it meets significant resistance."
The term "salami slice strategy" has been used to describe policies that incrementally improve China's foreign policy position.
[Poker, chess and Go: How the US should respond in the South China Sea](_blank)
Lowy Institute
The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research about international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in Sydney, ...
, 21 July 2016[China’s biggest ally in the South China Sea? A volcano in the Philippines](_blank)
Quartz, 10 July 2017. Advocates of the term have cited examples such as the alleged
String of Pearls strategy in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
as manifestations of the strategy.
[String of Pearls vs Necklace of Diamonds](_blank)
Asia Times, 14 July 2020. The term has also been compared to
cabbage tactics
Cabbage tactics is a militarily swarming and overwhelming tactic used by the People's Liberation Army Navy to seize control of islands. It is a tactic to overwhelm and seize control of an island by surrounding and wrapping the island in successive ...
, which involve swarming a maritime target with large numbers of boats.
Strategy
Modus operandi
The strategy is often described as covering many domains, including combining soft and hard power for coercive diplomacy, territorial claims on neighboring nations, economic coercion through so-called
debt-trap diplomacy
Debt-trap diplomacy is an international financial relationship where a creditor country or institution extends debt to a borrowing nation partially, or solely, to increase the lender's political leverage. The creditor country is said to extend ...
, technological acquisition through lawful and unlawful means, and lobbying and influence operations in foreign nations and in international organisations like the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
, with a view to change their
organizational culture
Historically there have been differences among investigators regarding the definition of organizational culture. Edgar Schein, a leading researcher in this field, defined "organizational culture" as comprising a number of features, including a s ...
to one that is advantageous to China. Salami Slicing has been compared to
fifth and sixth generation warfare.
[Chatterji, Brigadier (Retd) SK (22 October 2020]
Wider connotations of Chinese ‘salami slicing’
Asia Times. .
According to
Brahma Chellaney
Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist, public intellectual, columnist and author on geostrategic affairs.
He is a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
He was a member of India's National Security Advis ...
, China slices very thinly in a "disaggregating" manner by camouflaging offense as defense, which eventually leads cumulatively to large strategic gains and advantage for China. This throws its targets off balance by undercutting targets' deterrence, and presenting the targets a
Hobson’s choice: either silently suffering China's salami slicing, or risking an expensive and dangerous war with China. This strategy also functions to place the blame and burden of starting the war on the targets.
According to Chellaney, "salami slicing" rather than overt aggression is China's favored strategy to gain strategic advantage through "steady progression of small actions, none of which serves as a
casus belli
A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...
by itself, yet which over time lead cumulatively to a strategic transformation in China’s favor. China’s strategy aims to seriously limit the options of the targeted countries by confounding their deterrence plans and making it difficult for them to devise proportionate or effective counteractions."
Benefits accrued by China
![China India CIA map border disputes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/China_India_CIA_map_border_disputes.jpg)
Chellaney has claimed that China uses salami slicing tactics to control the Indian-claimed Kashmiri territory of
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of the ...
, during the 1950s and 1960s, and to acquire the
Paracel Islands
The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...
in 1974 with marine area of 15,000 square kilometres,
Johnson Reef in 1988 from Philippines and Vietnam,
Mischief Reef
Mischief Reef, also known as Panganiban Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Panganiban); vi, Đá Vành Khăn; also known in Mandarin ;, is a low tide elevation (LTE) reef/atoll surrounding a large lagoon in the SE of Dangerous Ground in the east of the Spra ...
in 1995 from Philippines and Taiwan, and
Scarborough Shoal
Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish language, Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock isl ...
in 2012 from Philippines.
Dimensions of Chinese salami slicing
Proponents of the ''salami slicing'' strategy allege that China has used techniques including exercise of soft and hard power, territorial claims, economic inducements, and foreign intelligence activities to advance Chinese national interests.
Power and control
China is alleged by Indian sources to use both
soft and
hard
Hard may refer to:
* Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture
* Hard water, water with high mineral content
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series
* Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...
power including "coercive diplomacy, cartographic aggression, saber-rattling, gunboat diplomacy, population-control measures, loans, project funding leading to debt traps, educational programs and incentives". India claims that Chinese activities in Tibet, Hong Kong,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, as well as supporting friendly states in North Korea and Pakistan constitute examples of the use of hard and soft power.
Territorial claims
![South_China_Sea_claims_map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/South_China_Sea_claims_map.svg)
Indian authors accuse China of using piecemeal territorial claims to expand its territory. Chellaney has cited the incorporation of
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of the ...
into China in a stealthy step-by-step process between 1952 and 1964 as an example of salami slicing.
Its
recent aggression against India, he terms a "new dangerous phase", where China brazenly seized border areas under another country's control backed by tens of thousands of troops stationed in the rear.
Tazikistan's Pamir Mountains, Mount Everest on Nepal–China border, Bhutan's eastern region which shares a border only with India are cited as more such examples.
South China Sea
Brahma Chellaney
Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist, public intellectual, columnist and author on geostrategic affairs.
He is a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
He was a member of India's National Security Advis ...
alleges that China uses territorial claims in South China Sea to expand its
Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at the expense of other nations EEZ through its Nine-dash line claims, and that China's defense of these claims by installing and deploying military infrastructure constitute territorial expansionism. China deployed its paramilitary agencies,
China Maritime Safety Administration
The Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China (CMSA; ) is a government agency which administers all matters related to maritime and shipping safety, including the supervision of maritime traffic safety and security, prevent ...
,
Fisheries Law Enforcement Command
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
and
State Oceanic Administration to advance its claims in the region.
Debt diplomacy
Some critics have claimed that the
Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...
(BRI) has pushed
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia and other nations have forced these countries, unable to pay their debts, to handover their infrastructure and resources to China.
According to Chellaney, this is "clearly part of China's geostrategic vision".
China's overseas development policy has been called debt-trap diplomacy because once indebted economies fail to service their loans, they are said to be pressured to support China's geostrategic interests.
However, other analysts such as the
Lowy Institute
The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research about international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in Sydney, ...
argue that the BRI is not the main cause of failed projects,
while the
Rhodium Group
Rhodium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has onl ...
found that "asset seizures are a very rare occurrence", while debt write-off is the most common outcome.
Sovereignty slicing
Some governments have accused the Belt and Road Initiative of being "neocolonial" due to what they allege is China's practice of
debt trap diplomacy to fund the initiative's infrastructure projects in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
China contends that the initiative has provided markets for commodities, improved prices of resources and thereby reduced inequalities in exchange, improved infrastructure, created employment, stimulated
industrialization
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
, and expanded
technology transfer
Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...
, thereby benefiting host countries.
Allegations of technology theft
China is accused by critics of the theft of "cutting-edge technology from global leaders in diverse fields".
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
is said to have begun a widespread effort to acquire U.S.
military technology
Military technology is the application of technology for use in warfare. It comprises the kinds of technology that are distinctly military in nature and not civilian in application, usually because they lack useful or legal civilian application ...
and
classified information
Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...
and the
trade secret
Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily asc ...
s of U.S. companies.
[Finkle, J. Menn, J., Viswanatha, J]
''U.S. accuses China of cyber spying on American companies.''
Reuters, Mon 19 May 2014 6:04pm EDT.[Clayton, M]
''US indicts five in China's secret 'Unit 61398' for cyber-spying.''
Christian Science Monitor, May 19, 2014 China is accused of stealing trade secrets and technology, often from companies in the United States, to help support its long-term military and commercial development. China has been accused of using a number of methods to obtain U.S. technology, using lawful methods, as well as covert methods, such as
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
, leveraging a network of scientific, academic and business contacts.
The German
Federal Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
estimates that Chinese economic espionage could be costing Germany between 20 and 50 billion euros annually. Spies are reportedly targeting mid- and small-scale companies that do not have as strong security regimens as larger corporations.
Lobbying and influence operations
China is accused of nominating persons to various organizations with the view of influencing the organizational culture and values to the advantage of China's national interests. Examples cited include the promotion of Chinese officials to the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
, which critics have claimed advances Chinese national interests.
The
Confucius Institute
Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged currently by the , a government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGO) under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic o ...
s have also been claimed to advance Chinese state interests.
China is alleged to have attempted
foreign electoral intervention
Foreign electoral interventions are attempts by governments, covertly or overtly, to influence elections in another country.
Academic studies Intervention measurements
Theoretical and empirical research on the effect of foreign electoral inte ...
in the domestic political elections of other nations, including in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, although these claims have not been supported by evidence., China has been accused of interference in elections on
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and has been accused of influencing
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
members of Parliament.
Relations between China and Australia deteriorated after 2018 due to growing concerns of Chinese political influence in various sectors of Australian society including in
the Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
, universities and
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
as well as China's stance on the South China Sea dispute. Consequently, Australian Coalition Government announced plans to ban foreign donations to Australian political parties and activist groups. Australia has empowered the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vio ...
,
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
(AFP) and the Attorney-General’s Department to target the China-linked entities and people under new legislation to combat alleged Chinese influence operations,
[Australian government to use “foreign interference” laws against China-linked targets](_blank)
, WSWS, 18 March 2020. including the alleged deployment of the
United Front Work Department
The United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (UFWD; ) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which is officially tasked with "united front work". For this endeavo ...
of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP).
The United Work Front department is accused of lobbying policy makers outside of China to enact pro-CCP policies, targeting people or entities that are outside the Party proper, especially in the
overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
Terminology
() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
community, who hold social, commercial, or academic influence, or who represent interest groups.
Through its efforts, the UFWD seeks to ensure that these individuals and groups are supportive of or useful to CCP interests and potential critics remain divided.
In 2005, a pair of Chinese dissidents claimed that China may have up to 1,000 intelligence agents in Canada. The head of the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...
Richard Fadden in a television interview implied that various
Canadian politicians at provincial and municipal levels had ties to Chinese intelligence, a statement which he withdrew few days later.
Usage of the phrase
* In 1996, a
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...
report on the South China Sea dispute writes "
analysts point to Chinese “salami tactics,” in which China tests the other claimants through aggressive actions, then backs off when it meets significant resistance."
*In 2001,
Jasjit Singh,
ISDA, wrote "Salami-slicing of the adversary's territory where each slice does not attract a major response, and yet the process over a time would result in gains of territory. China's strategy of salami slicing during the 1950s on our northern frontiers
...
*In 2012, Robbert Haddick described "salami-slicing," as "the slow accumulation of small actions, none of which is a casus belli, but which add up over time to a major strategic change
..The goal of Beijing’s salami-slicing would be to gradually accumulate, through small but persistent acts, evidence of China’s enduring presence in its claimed territory
.."
*In December 2013,
Erik Voeten wrote in a
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
article concerning China's salami-tactics with reference to "extension of its
air defense zone over the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
" – "The key to salami tactics’ effectiveness is that the individual transgressions are small enough not to evoke a response"– going on to ask, "So how should the United States respond in this case?"
*In January 2014,
Bonnie S. Glaser
Bonnie S. Glaser is the director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She was previously a senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ...
, a China expert in the
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
, made a statement before the
US House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces and the
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia Pacific, "How the US responds to China’s growing propensity to use coercion, bullying and salami-slicing tactics to secure its maritime interests is increasingly viewed as the key measure of success of the US rebalance to Asia.
..China thus seeks to employ a charm offensive with the majority of its neighbors while continuing its salami-slicing tactics to advance its territorial and maritime claims and pressing its interpretation of permissible military activities in its EEZ."
*In March 2014, Darshana M. Baruah, a Junior Fellow at
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of the ...
and a nonresident scholar at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...
, wrote "As Beijing's 'salami slicing' strategy is gathering speed it is more important than ever for ASEAN to show it solidarity and stand up to its bigger neighbour, China."
*In India in 2017, the
Chief of the Army Staff General
Bipin Rawat
General Bipin Rawat (16 March 1958 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian military officer who was a four-star general of the Indian Army. He served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 unt ...
used the phrase in a statement, "As far as northern adversary is concerned, the flexing of muscle has started. The salami slicing, taking over territory in a very gradual manner, testing our limits of threshold is something we have to be wary about and remain prepared for situations emerging which could gradually emerge into conflict."
Critique
Crispin Rovere, while agreeing that
China's strategy is widely accepted as salami slicing approach, also counters that China's strategy is based on the ancient Chinese game of "
Go" in which
enemy territory is gradually surrounded until enemy is overpowered, whereas
American strategy is based on the game of
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
played with straight face in an ambiguous situation, and
Russian strategy is based on the game of
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
which is similar to salami slicing in terms of gaining strategic advantage through a series of smaller set of actions.
In 2019, only in the limited context of
Sino-Indian border dispute
The Sino-Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The first of the territories, Aksai Chin, is administe ...
according to retired Indian
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
H. S. Panag, the phrase 'salami slicing' that is used "by military scholars as well as Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in relation to the
Line of Actual Control
The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...
— is a misnomer". General Panag argues that whatever territory China needed to annex, was done
prior to 1962 and after 1962, while there has been territorial claims by China, this is done more to "embarrass" rather than a form of "permanent salami slicing".
Linda Jakobson has argued that rather than salami slicing based territorial expansion and decision making, "China's decision-making can be explained by bureaucratic competition between China's various maritime agencies." Bonnie S. Glaser argues against this view point, saying "bureaucratic competition among numerous maritime actors
..is probably not the biggest source of instability. Rather, China's determination to advance its sovereignty claims and expand its control over the South China Sea is the primary challenge."
References
Notelist
Citations
Further reading
* Ronak Gopaldas (3 October 2018)
China’s salami slicing takes root in Africa ''Institute for Security Studies Africa''.
*
Brahma Chellaney
Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist, public intellectual, columnist and author on geostrategic affairs.
He is a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.
He was a member of India's National Security Advis ...
(24 December 2013)
The Chinese art of creeping warfare ''
Livemint
''Mint'' is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by HT Media, a Delhi-based media group which is controlled by the K. K. Birla family that also publishes ''Hindustan Times''. It mostly targets readers who are business executives and ...
''
{{Territorial disputes in East and South Asia
People's Republic of China
Geopolitical rivalry