China's position on the South China Sea issue: from maintaining stability to protecting rights

The article is devoted to the study of the dynamics of the position of the Chinese leadership on the issue of ownership of the water area and marine facilities in the South China Sea. The purpose of the proposed study is to determine the specifics of China's position on the key issue of regional security in Southeast Asia. The objectives of this work are to consider the historical and economic prerequisites affecting the policy of the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea; to study the dynamics of China's diplomatic conflict with regional countries over sovereignty over the waters in the South China Sea, as well as to interpret China's approaches to solving this issue. The author considers the approach of Chinese diplomacy as a derivative of increasing China's role in global governance, which entails changes in both the regional subsystem and the global system of international relations. The study uses historical-comparative, historical-typological and problem-chronological methods, which allowed the author to study the PRC's approach to protecting its national interests in the South China Sea with a special focus on innovations introduced into China's approach due to the increasing complexity of systemic challenges for China. The relevance of this study is related to a change in the tactics of Chinese diplomacy towards more focused and tougher rhetoric, emphasizing intransigence with baseless attacks by Western countries and manipulations with the vulnerability of indigenous Chinese interests. The researcher concludes that the main task of the PRC today is to assert its influence in the South China Sea through close cooperation with ASEAN countries and strengthening regional cooperation in the South China Sea region. In view of the US desire to curb China's growth and prevent it from gaining a foothold in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Beijing adheres to the tactics of negotiating a comprehensive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea with simultaneous unilateral economic development of the islands and waters of the South China Sea. This approach will lead to the creation of a stable and mutually beneficial regional order in East Asia.