By David A. Welch
Why and how Washington should clarify its policy of not taking sides in sovereignty disputes.
China’s breakneck land reclamation and militarization of the South China Sea is making everyone else nervous, and rightly so. Think what you will about China’s motives and intentions, the fact is that a relatively stable status quo is rapidly destabilizing and emotions are running high.
There is more at stake here than access to resources and the security of vital sea lines of communication. The big issue is the future of global order. By insisting that a dubious version of history (PDF) gives it maritime and territorial rights over the entire South China Sea, Beijing is, in effect, challenging core principles of international law enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that assign maritime and territorial rights on the basis of geography alone. It is as though Beijing were claiming the right to drive on the left-hand side of the road while everyone else drives on the right.
The United States finds itself in a weak and awkward position, legally and diplomatically speaking, not only because it has not yet ratified UNCLOS (although it generally abides by its principles), but because of its well-meaning but ill-conceived policy of not taking sides in sovereignty disputes (PDF). The desire not to become unnecessarily embroiled in others’ spats, and the desire not to be seen undermining the rule of law by throwing its weight around, are both eminently understandable. But as a practical matter, the policy is problematic because it often needlessly comes across as cowardice, hypocrisy, hesitation, or indifference. (Recall that in 1990 Saddam Hussein misinterpreted it as a tacit green light to occupy Kuwait.)
Read the full story at The Diplomat