China's strategy in the disputed South China Sea has been discussed by various scholars from Taiwan, which shares similar official territorial claims to the majority of islands and archipelagos in the region, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.
Most contested of all land features in the South China Sea are the Spratly islands, which are claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia. Backed by the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines have sought to resolve disputes through multilateral consultation, an approach which Beijing rejects. Chang Ching, a researcher at the Taipei-based Society for Strategic Studies, said that bilateral talks, also known as the dual-track approach, is still the only option Beijing accepts to address territorial disputes over the South China Sea with other claimants.
From China's point of view, multilateral consultation gives countries outside the region of the South China Sea like the United States and Japan an opportunity to complicate the situation. In addition, other claimants to the Spratlys can move to isolate China during negotiations. Beijing can convince other claimants of the dual-track approach by selling it to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Chang said.
Read the full story at Want China Times