China's media diplomacy in the South China Sea disputes. Case studies of the Scarborough Shoal stand-off and the oil rig crisis

Abstract

The Scarborough Shoal stand-off and the oil rig crisis hold symbolic value to the Chinese. During the crises, China’s sovereignty claims over the South China Sea have been recounted several times. As the way that the Chinese government has mobilized media tools to cover the crises and to shape its national image of their rival(s) via its narratives turned the territorial controversies into nationalist demonstrations, and deteriorated the bilateral relations, the demand to understand how the crises and media diplomacy could impact on the bilateral relations and the peace in the region has increased. Media diplomacy occurs when a government sends its diplomatic messages to its target audiences through speeches, press conferences, visits, or even leaks. To succeed, a government needs to have the ability to predict how different stakeholders will consume its message and how its target audiences are likely to respond. The paper uses the theoretical framework of media diplomacy to analyze media reports in China to understand how China deployed media tactics to fulfill its political goals in the crises and whether media diplomacy can be used as one of the ways to resolve the tensions.