《Sino-US Maritime Incident Prevention and Military Confidence Building》.pdf

andMilitaryConfidenceBuilding ZhangYuan＆HuDekun nationalpowerhasincreased，thePeople’SLiberation vy(PLAN)，whichconstitutesChinasmaritimeforces， hhaassengageeddin‘in‘creasin‘gl’yfftreeqquenteexxcchhaanngeswwIitthlqtthlaeenavi。esOoft othercountrieswhileundertakingthepivotaltaskofsafeguarding Chinassovereigntyandmaritimerightsand interests，aswellas advancingChindsnationalinterestsoverseas．Meanwhile，theUS NavyhascommitteditsmainforcestOtheAsia—Pacificregionagainst thebackdropofWashingtonssteadyshiftofstrategicfocustOthe East．Ithasconductedregularairandnavalsurveillanceinwaters offChingscoast，occasionallyresultingin standoffsandcollisions betweenChineseandUSfightersandvessels．Such incidentsare detrimentaltOtheoverallbilateralrelationsandregionalpeaceand stability．Accordingly,how tOstrengthenmilitarymutualtrustatsea， reducemaritimeincidents，avoidclashes，andpreventthepossible escalationofcriseshasbecomeapressingconcern． Chinaand theUS signed theAgreementon Establishinga ConsultationMechanism tO StrengthenM ilitaryMaritimeSafety, otherwiseknownastheM ilitaryMaritimeConsultativeAgreement ZhangYuanisLecturerattheInstituteforInternationalSutdiesatW uhanUniversity；HuDekun isProfessorandDirectoroftheInstiutteofrInternationalStudiesatWuhanUniversity． CH1NAINTERNATIONALSTUDIES-March／April2014 113 ZhangYuan＆HuDekun (MMCA)，inJanuary1998．WhiletheMMCAlaidthegroundwork forfurtherconfidence．buildingmeasures，thetWOcountrieshaveSO faryettOcarryOUtin—depth cooperationinthisfield．Inlightof this，thispaperseekstOanalyzethedeficiencies，underlyingflaws， andprospectsoftheSino—USmilitarymaritimesafetyconsultation mechanism，based on maritimeincidentprevention theoriesand typicalcases．Italsoofferssuggestionsonthefuturedevelopmentof theSino，USmaritimeconfidence—buildingmechanism． I．TheMMCAandItsImplementation 1．P0sitiveEffectsoftheM M CA ChinaandtheUSagreed