territory), Nepal, Sikkim (disputed territory), Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh (disputed territory). According to the Five Fingers of Tibet strategy, Tibet is considered as China's right hand palm, with five fingers on its periphery: Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, with the ultimate objective to assert China's claim and authority over these regions. East China Sea disputes With the 1978 Chinese economic reform launched by Deng Xiaoping, China has increased its political stance, its influence and its power abroad. On one side, China remains deeply neutral and not involving itself in any conflict , and the land borders are stable . China has increased its influence, while using military and economic wealth and claims to island territories that have caused anxiety in neighbors to the east, such as the Philippines and Japan. South China Sea disputes The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims of China and the claims of several neighboring sovereign states in the region, namely Brunei, the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The disputes are over islands, reefs, banks, and other features in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin and the waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands. Belt and Road Initiative Jeffrey Reeves (2018) argues that since 2012, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping has demonstrated "a concerted imperialist policy" towards its developing neighbor states to the south and west, especially Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. See also Han nationalism Han chauvinism History of China Monarchy of China Chinese nationalism Chinese irredentism Emperor at home, king abroad Greater China Sinicization Sinocentrism Tributary system of China Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Nanyang (region) Western imperialism in Asia Salami slicing tactics String of Pearls strategy Five Fingers of Tibet policy References Further reading Chan, Steve. China's Troubled Waters: Maritime Disputes in Theoretical Perspective (Cambridge UP, 2016) excerpt Chang, Chun-shu. The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Nation, State, and Imperialism in Early China, ca. 1600 B.C.–A.D. 8 (Volume 1, University of Michigan Press, 2007). Hawksley, Humphrey. Asian Waters: The Struggle Over the South China Sea and the Strategy of Chinese Expansion (2018) excerpt Mancall, Mark. China at the Center: 300 Years of Foreign Policy (1984) Reeves, Jeffrey. "Imperialism and the Middle Kingdom: the Xi Jinping administration's peripheral diplomacy with developing states." Third