By Shannon Tiezzi
China has changed the way it talks about its actions in the South China Sea, signalling a shift in the way it thinks.
The Philippines released photos of China’s construction and land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, on May 15, 2014, a day after Manila accused Beijing of violating the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea by carrying out such construction. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying was asked about the photographs in her regular press conference on May 15. Here’s her response, in full:
China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha [Spratly] Islands including Chigua Reef [Johnson South Reef] and the contiguous waters. Whatever construction China carries out in the Chigua Reef is completely within China’s sovereignty.
That response did not evolve much over the next ten months. In March 2015, Hua was still defending China’s construction with terse proclamations: “China’s normal construction activities on our own islands and in our own waters are lawful, reasonable and justifiable.”
Over the last four months, however, we’ve seen a major change in the way China talks about its activities in the South China Sea – first a clarification of the purposes of the construction, then an announcement that land reclamation will soon be coming to a halt. As others have pointed out, China’s change in rhetoric does not accompany a change in behavior – it still plans to finish all its previously-started construction, for example. Nonetheless, the shift in tone is important.
Read the full story at The Diplomat