By Wei Zongyou
China needs to rethink its approach to its maritime disputes.
Just days after the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, news spread that the U.S. Navy would soon challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, sending a ship within 12 nautical miles of some of China’s man-made islands built on top of reefs in the Spratly Islands. True or not, the news soon drew worldwide attention and effectively overshadowed any outcomes from the summit during what is a testing time for China-U.S. relations.
In recent years, and especially since Xi Jinping became president, China has paid increasing attention to the sea and to its maritime interests and rights. At the 18th CPC National Congress, China officially put forward the vision of building a maritime power to effectively defend its maritime interests and rights. In a first, China’s Defense White Paper 2013 has four paragraphs devoted to emphasizing the importance of safeguarding China’s maritime interests and rights. The Defense White Paper 2015, under the sub-section of National Security Situation, warns that China’s maritime interests and rights are being eroded by some of its neighbors who are taking provocative actions by strengthening their military presence and construction on the illegally occupied islands and reefs of China, and claims some powers from outside the region are also interfering in the South China Sea issue and that one country even goes so far as to conduct intense surveillance in China’s EEZs. As a result, it said, maintaining its maritime interests and rights will be a long-term challenge for China.
As a traditional continental power but also one with a long coastline and an economy is increasingly dependent on overseas energy, resources, and markets, it is hardly surprising that China is turning its eyes to the sea. After all, China has to make sure its energy, resources, and commodities will can transit safely and smoothly. Besides, when your maritime rights and interests are being eroded and challenged, you’ve got to do something to defend them.
While maintaining maritime commerce safety is an area where all parties can cooperate and contribute, defending an individual country’s maritime rights and interests is not. Instead, it’s an issue in which countries’ interests and perspectives may differ and even conflict. This is especially the case in the South China Sea, where six or (including Taiwan) seven parties claim rights or sovereignty over all or some of the islands and reefs. Among the claimants, China claims all the islands and reefs in the South China Sea but occupies only eight, while Vietnam occupies 29, the Philippines nine, and Malaysia five. Since 2009, Vietnam has accelerated its land reclamation and outposts upgrades, and between 2009 and 2014, it has reclaimed approximately 60 acres, according to David Shear, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Since late 2013, China has also begun to reclaim land in the South China Sea, and according to U.S. Defense Department, China has reclaimed 2000 acres, more than all other claimants combined over the history of their claims.
Read the full story at The Diplomat