search
The South China Sea continues to be one of the most hotly contested maritime regions in the world. Credit: Mahmudul Anabil/Unsplash
Soft Power Diplomacy in the South China Sea
- November 6, 2025
- 6 minutes of reading
Opting for Soft Power
The South China Sea (SCS) is one of the most strategic and disputed maritime regions in the world. Territorial disputes, particularly between China and ASEAN countries, are a factor that disrupts regional stability and impacts global trade.
China’s unilateral claims and extensive land reclamation have escalated tensions with several ASEAN Member States (AMS), exposing the limits of ASEAN’s ability to maintain regional stability. Despite two decades of negotiations over a code of conduct, ASEAN’s collective response has remained weak, largely due to divergent national interests and varying levels of economic dependence on China.
These internal divisions weaken ASEAN centrality and reduce the organisation’s capacity to act as a cohesive security actor in the region.
Reliance on hard power only sharpens the existing tension over SCS. Therefore, ASEAN needs to strengthen its role by prioritising soft power through functional cooperation. This approach can strengthen trust and open opportunities for achieving sustainable political solutions.
Soft power focuses on shaping preferences through attraction and cooperation rather than coercion, making it more effective in fostering trust among involved parties. For ASEAN, emphasising non-traditional security issues that provide tangible benefits, such as environmental protection or humanitarian cooperation, could make confrontation a less attractive option.
Environmental and Humanitarian Causes
Globally, soft power has proven instrumental in easing tensions, as seen in the role of the European Union’s environmental and cultural cooperation in stabilising the post-Cold War relations, or Japan’s use of development assistance and cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia.
This approach aligns with ASEAN’s emphasis on functional cooperation as a trust-building mechanism that is not susceptible to political deadlock.
Soft power is directed at priority sectors, such as the restoration of the degraded SCS ecosystem. More than 70% of coral reefs in the South China Sea (SCS) have been damaged by reclamation, overfishing and pollution. ASEAN can encourage joint research or establish a multilateral marine park in the disputed area. This step avoids sovereignty debates while responding to ecological threats, which affect everyone, in a concrete manner. Such an initiative could foster valuable collective knowledge, guided by the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC).
Meanwhile, the maritime region sees frequent typhoons every year. ASEAN can design an emergency response protocol by making disputed islands neutral aid centres. This effort would not only provide humanitarian benefits but also build a tradition of cooperation in the region.
Furthermore, fish stocks in the region have declined by 70-90% since the 1950s due to overfishing. A joint management agreement is important for food security for all parties whose maritime interests lie in the SCS.
Intelligence Diplomacy
In addition to environmental and humanitarian cooperation, ASEAN can also utilise intelligence mechanisms to strengthen soft power diplomacy.
The Our Eyes Initiative (OEI), launched by Indonesia in 2018, should be expanded from its focus on counterterrorism to include maritime security issues, illegal fishing and grey-zone tactics in the South China Sea. If packaged as a confidence-building instrument rather than a coercive force, the OEI could provide an avenue whereby intelligence cooperation is preventive in nature and aimed at maintaining stability.
Intelligence diplomacy has the potential to complement Track 1.5 and Track 2 by offering a closed dialogue space when formal negotiations reach an impasse. Through this mechanism, ASEAN can unify perceptions of threats and strengthen regional resilience without division. This way, intelligence could also play a role in supporting ASEAN’s centrality while strengthening soft power leadership in the management of the SCS.
Furthermore, intelligence sharing on issues such as illegal fishing, maritime smuggling and grey-zone tactics supports economic security while strengthening ASEAN’s credibility as a provider of regional stability.
Indonesia’s and the Philippines’ Roles
In this regard, Indonesia, as a non-claimant in the SCS, is strategically positioned to lead this soft power agenda. Indonesia, as the largest country in ASEAN, could emerge as an honest broker and normative leader.
Several steps that Indonesia can take include: 1) promoting minilateral projects such as marine research and joint environmental programmes with selected partners; 2) strengthening the capacity of the ASEAN Secretariat to manage technical cooperation, and; 3) aligning soft power initiatives with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to ensure consistency with the organisation’s broader strategy.
Beyond Indonesia, claimant states and involved parties could also employ soft power tools to foster trust, such as joint humanitarian response mechanisms, environmental protection initiatives and people-to-people exchanges. Expanding this approach from a national to a regional level would help reinforce ASEAN’s collective leadership and complement ongoing security dialogues, including those involving the Philippines, ASEAN chair for 2026.
The Philippines is a test case for the effectiveness of soft power. Despite winning the 2016 international arbitration, Manila continues to face pressures from China through naval maneuvers, water cannoning and laser interference with its coast guard. This situation has led to domestic demands for a firm response.
However, the Philippines could pursue a dual strategy of strengthening its defence alliance with the United States while promoting ASEAN cooperation in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) or fisheries, so that China’s assertions are seen as targeting not only the Philippines but also regional interests.
As ASEAN chair, the Philippines would have the opportunity to strengthen regional unity by promoting deep-sea governance norms, raising maritime economic issues on the ASEAN agenda, and proposing symbolic measures such as renaming the SCS to the Southeast Asian Sea to affirm collective identity. Strengthening ASEAN’s internal funding is also important to prevent initiatives, especially those related to marine resources, from becoming dependent on external donors.
Limitations and Looking Forward
Soft power strategies are not always effective. Their goal is not to quickly resolve sovereignty conflicts but to create a more stable and manageable environment. In practical terms, functional cooperation can only succeed if it does not interfere with territorial claims, which require careful formulation and negotiation.
Every initiative must be managed by a neutral ASEAN institution and packaged as a mutual benefit. Therefore, they should not give the impression of supporting specific claims.
China might view such efforts with suspicion, perceiving them as restrictions or internationalisation issues. Conversely, China might also embrace them as a safe way to demonstrate its commitment to “mutually beneficial cooperation”. Therefore, ASEAN must be able to emphasise that this framework is inclusive and beneficial to everyone, including China.
ASEAN must actively leverage the financial resources and technical expertise of Dialogue Partners such as Japan, Australia and the European Union to strengthen its position. All initiatives must remain under ASEAN’s control and leadership. Communication must be expanded through intelligence channels and academic discussions in addition to formal avenues. This approach could ensure that political negotiations continue, reduce the risk of infiltration and strengthen ASEAN unity by aligning perceptions of threats.
Strategic threats such as the exploitation of the seabed economy and hybrid threats, including underwater cable sabotage, must be taken more seriously. ASEAN has great collective strength, but unfortunately it is often not used properly. This potential can be realised as real regional influence under the Philippines’ leadership. Ultimately, resolving the conflict in SCS cannot be achieved solely through legal or military means because the dynamic is too complex. A more practical approach is to strengthen soft power diplomacy through the principle of ASEAN centrality. By focusing on issues and benefits for all parties, ASEAN can build trust and a culture of cooperation that would ultimately result in a more stable and prosperous region.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of STRAT.O.SPHERE CONSULTING PTE LTD.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Licence. Republications minimally require 1) credit authors and their institutions, and 2) credit to STRAT.O.SPHERE CONSULTING PTE LTD and include a link back to either our home page or the article URL.
