Law fare and Maritime Encirclement: China’s Grey-Zone Strategy in the South China Sea

Abstract

The synchronised exercise of China’s maritime militia, coast guard, and naval assets along the rim and in a magnificently coordinated manner to switch disputed features is known as Cabbage tactics. This tactic characteristically seals the gaps and qualms in international oceanic law. The law of the sea pertains primarily to non-military or quasi-civilian forces that complicate legal arrangements and acknowledgement. Thus, this research analyses these tactics interconnect with norms of freedom of navigation, jurisdictional claims, and argument settlement frameworks for the past five years. The growth, devices, and normative penalties of China’s cabbage tactics in the South China Sea will also be critically scrutinised in this study.  Hence, the paper adds to a deeper understanding of how grey‑zone manoeuvres shape contemporary oceanic disputes and the forecasts for normative reactions by petitioner states and global organisations