China’s Salami Slicing Tactics

Context: China is using the Salami Slicing trick in the Yellow Sea to capture new territory.

About Salami Slicing

• Salami Slicing is a geopolitical tactic involving the gradual, incremental encroachment of disputed territory or maritime zones without provoking full-scale conflict.
• The term was coined by Stalinist dictator Mátyás Rákosi during the 1940s.

• China is using this technique in the Yellow Sea:
  • China uses civilian structures, coast guard actions, and non-military means to:
    • Slowly assert control & avoid triggering a military response
  • A similar strategy was used in the South China Sea (e.g., Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal).
  • Yellow Sea bordering countries: China, North Korea and South Korea.

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