Understanding the Complex South China Sea issue ; facts and fictions
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South China Sea dispute and conflicts, especially between Chinese vessels and that of Philippines do often become the headlines of the Mainstream Media, especially of their extension media in South East Asia. It is an undeniable fact that due to its being a fishing region, trade route and strategic importance there is a dispute over the islands and in the region. However, the image the Western Media and its extensions in South East Asia have been trying to portray the issue as if there is a serious antagonistic conflict among all the five countries who “occupy “ these islands. Is that really the fact or fiction created by the Western Media in the service of the US-West for which has become a “triggering” issue of a proxy war through constant provocations? Is the main antagonistic question “the ownership of Islands” and/or the “Maritime Rights” arising from the “islands dispute”? Is there really any serious antagonistic dispute among all the parties or is it a pseudo dispute constantly brought forward by the Western Media and provoked externally through- mainly one remaining- proxy country in the region for the interests of declining unipolar world power? Is the issue so serious that may trigger a regional war on the road to a world war?
It
is important to note that Paracel group of islands on the north, close
to and within the Maritime Zone of China
and Vietnam is another source of dispute but except the proxy Philippines
provocations, it is not as “serious” as Spratly islands. Philippines, as far as
the outcome of my research is concerned, has no direct claim to any
islands within the Paracel groups of Islands but we do read news form
the western media projecting as if there is a claim and dispute related to
Philippines .
The
disputed region is called the Spratly islands or the Nansha Islands.
Despite my research in Malaysia with a local translator of the related
documents, I couldn’t figure out the exact total of islands, islets, and reefs
in the region since most reefs are under water and islets are too small to even
build anything on. Relying on and
comparing the sources, we can have a good idea on what really counts as far as
the “disputes, their actual content and their significance” is
concerned. It is commonly agreed that
there are a total of 18 small islands, the rest are reefs and islets-rocks.
With over 600 coral reefs in total, 70 of them are disputed, they make up the
predominant structures of the Spratly group of islands.
According to the US War College army document dated 1996; The Spratly
Islands group or archipelago is situated in the southern part of the South
China Sea and comprises a collection of over 230 shoals, reefs and small, mostly
uninhabited islets that are spread over an approximately 150,000 square
mile area. They lie 120 miles west of the Philippine island of Palawan, 150
miles northwest of the Malaysian State of Sabah, 230 miles east of the
Vietnamese coast and 900 miles south of the Chinese island of Hainan. (1)
The
subject of Maritime Rights is beyond my comprehension. However, the fact that
all the overlapping ownership rights of these islands and the close proximity
to each other spells the inevitable problem of Maritime rights. That is an
issue for the experts to discuss, we return to the disputes on ownership and
related diplomacy.
The
bases for the claims vary from historical (China and Vietnam) , to
right of discovery (the Philippines), to association with continental
shelves and the Law of the Sea Convention (Malaysia and Brunei).
However, the Law of the Sea Convention starts with a premise that
sovereignty of land territory is established prior to consideration of
maritime issues. China has the oldest historical claim, which dates back
to 300 B.C.
The
book written by Anthony Carty, an Irish professor of international
law “The History and Sovereignty of
South China Sea “ in which he examines the official British and French
archive historical records spanning 120 years. In the book, Carty explains
that historical records back China's claims.
“The
Nansha Islands, also known as the Spratly Islands
dispute, involving five countries - China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia,
Brunei is the most complex one among all
territorial disputes. All parties except Brunei actually occupy few of the
islands and both China and Vietnam have made claims to all based on
historical sovereignty of the islands.
Western
colonizers invaded Southeast Asia including the Spratly Islands, and left many historical
problems. After the end of World War II, many Southeast Asian countries made
Western colonialism as an excuse for their claims on the Spratly Islands. The
Cold War structure and the confrontation between capitalist and socialist camps
caused the Spratly Islands dispute to be one not just of sovereignty and
jurisdiction, but also a key factor which can influence regional stability and
even the whole international pattern.
US-West
involvement in the dispute has become more direct as the Spratly dispute could
be more connected with their interests in changing world, in economic and
political alliances.
British
national archives substantial dossier
dealing directly with the question of the ownership of the Nansha Islands, of
which the Philippines calls Spratly Islands shows that the Spratly Islands were
by default Chinese. Carty states;
The
archives demonstrate, taken as a whole, that it is the view of the British and
French legal experts that as a matter of the international law territory, which
is a rather arcane subject, the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands are
Chinese territory. That is to say, the Chinese claims and activities on the
islands far exceeded in intensity of those of any other country during the
period, except for the French, whose own lawyers challenged the actions of
France, which, in any case, subsequently withdrew.
From
the classical Western international law point of view, this is very
significant. The most important French foreign minister of the inter-war period
Aristide Briand, who was foreign minister most of the time between 1918 and his
death in 1932, took the view that the Xisha Islands were clearly Chinese.
French
legal advice was that France never completed an effective occupation of the
Spratly Islands, and they abandoned them completely in 1956. In the 1930s they
recognized that these Spratly Islands had always been home to Chinese fisherman
from Hainan Island and Guangdong.
It
is the British who then drew a decisive conclusion, from all the French and
British records available, that the Chinese were the owners of the Spratly
Islands, a legal position certified as part of British Cabinet records in 1974.
There
is a very important document in the French archives, which is a letter from the
French ambassador to Beijing in 1974, written to the French prime minister at
the time, saying all of this unrest in the South China Sea is due to French
interference in the region. It is further due, in his view, to the Americans
inciting the Vietnamese to make claims for the purpose of embarrassing China.
And there is a record in the mid-1950s in the US National Archive, in which a
US under secretary of state says that, while the Filipinos have no claim to the
Spratly Islands it is in the US interest to encourage them to make a claim
anyway to keep Communist China out of the area.
Beginning
in the mid-1800s, colonial powers such as the United Kingdom, the United
States, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Russia, and Japan
successively became involved in carving out spheres of influence or de facto
sovereignty ("concessions" of some kind) over enclaves of Chinese
land territory in such a way that the country, weak in naval power, didn't
place any priority on asserting or protecting a maritime frontier.
It
wasn't until an 1887 treaty with France delimiting a sea border with the French
protectorate of Tonkin that China began to take any action to demarcate and
defend an ocean frontier. That came just two years after China had been forced
by Japan to cede the island of Taiwan and associated small islands to Japanese
sovereignty. And it was only with the defeat of Japan in 1945 that China again
was in a position to demarcate and defend its maritime frontier, including
around Taiwan, free from foreign military threat, invasion, or occupation.” (2)
China, and Vietnam claim the Spratly
islands in their entirety, the Philippines claim some 60 islets, rocks
and atolls that are collectively call Kalayaan, Malaysia claims three
islands and four groups of rock at the southern limit of the Spratly Islands,
and Brunei claims a single reef well south of the bulk of the
islands. There are no islands-Islets-Reefs that only two nations have claim on,
some of them are claimed by all or multiple countries. The Spratly
Islands are astride sea lanes for the commerce of the region and the world. These
sea lanes link the Indian and Pacific Oceans via the Malacca, Sunda and Lombok
Straits and run close by the Spratly Islands. That is why, A nation with
sovereign control of the Spratly Islands would have a central and commanding
position to influence trade throughout this region of the world. Although, the Spratly Islands are valuable in terms of
fishing resources, some argues that what makes it more valuable is (despite the
extreme cost including to China) the projected oil and gas reserves in
the sea bed surrounding the islands which makes the dispute alive.
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consists of seven nations;
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore and, Vietnam.
Four of these ASEAN nations also have claims within the Spratly Islands.
Each Southeast Asian country attempted to assert its own sovereignty,
sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the South China Sea either through
domestic laws, or through (PCA)*. China
does not recognize the PCA and the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea stating that it does not have the legal authority to rule on sovereignty
issues. Philippines unilaterally
applied to PCA more than any other country of the region. The language
they use, in a way, reflects their core intention; such as “Rule Based World
Order” in which the “rules” are always flexible and determined by the US in
each given case, and the others use of term, is “International Law” .
As
most of the objective experts agree, the “dispute” is serious only to the degree of the
competition- conflict between the declining US hegemony and China’s extending
sphere of influence in the region and the world. China’s influence in South
East Asia against the US influence is heavily contingent on the
recognition of China as the influential power in the region and its policy
there upon by the respective countries of the region. It seems that China has won over all the respective
countries except Philippines -which is no surprise to any one. That recognition
is not fundamentally related to the Islands and maritime issue by itself but a
byproduct of the China’s new world order policy and practices which facilitated
the broader recognition universally. The
“peaceful coexistence” policy aims to optimize and stabilize the beneficial
relationships between the countries, especially neighboring countries,
rather than to weaken and destabilize the relationships through the use of
force in different forms. The five principles of peaceful coexistence
established in the bilateral agreement with India in 1954 states; ‘mutual respect
for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression,
non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual
benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
Although
it is another subject to discuss, the referred policy was an inevitable change
(due to its high industrial development) from the earlier “antagonistic”
approach to the Western hegemonic powers (imperialism) to a “peace”
approach with the establishment of a “multi polar’ world which strongly
advocated the “principle of non-interference.”
The
overall trade volume between China and ASEAN countries rose by 4.8 percent, but
the bilateral trade volume between China and the Philippines declined by 10.3
percent year-on-year. (3)
For
most of the countries of the region,
this policy and practice was a way to escape from the conflict between
the external powers otherwise which would drag them in to the conflict and
severe their relations with all external powers. Analysing the previous stands
of the regional countries, it seems that neutrality and peace found to be best
option for them.
*Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), based on its own site, is an intergovernmental organization to provide a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means. The PCA was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, concluded at The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference…Contracting Parties’ diplomatic representatives accredited to The Netherlands comprise the Administrative Council, under the chairmanship of the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs. This body, in consultation with the Secretary-General, shapes the policy of the organization…The budget of the PCA is funded in part by contributions from Contracting Parties
The
region and the background of the issue and each countries attitude on the
“dispute”
Vietnam
;
Namyit
Island- Đảo Nam
Yết, Sand Cay island- Đảo Sơn Ca, Sin Cowe Island - Đảo Sinh Tồn,
Southwest Cay Island - Đảo Song Tử
Tây, West Reef Islet- Đá Tây. Some other sources include An Bang Island, Bombay
Castle, Ba Ke, , Co Lin Reef, C, Nui Le Reef, Ladd Reef, Lat Reef, Son Ca
Island, Sinh Ton Island, , Song Tu Tay Island, Truong Sa Island. Considering
the fact that Vietnam has the highest number of Island-Islet-Reef in the
region, this may reflect the truth and/or numbers may be different due to
different naming of them and double entry.
Alison
Reef- Bãi Tốc
Tan, Amboyna Cay- Đảo An Bang, Bãi Thuyền Chài- Barque Canada Reef,
Central Reef- Đảo Trường Sa Đông, Collins Reef- Đá Cô Lin,Cornwallis
South Reef- Đá Núi Le, Discovery Great Reef - Đá Lớn, East Reef-
Đá Đông, Grierson Reef- Sinh Tồn Đông, Ladd Reef - Đá Lát, Lansdowne
Reef- Đá Len Đao, Pearson Reef - Đảo Phan Vinh, Petley Reef- Đá Núi
Thị, South Reef - Đá Nam, Tennent Reef - Đá Tiên Nữ, Alexandra Bank - Bãi Huyền
Trân, Grainger Bank - Bãi Quế Đường, Prince Consort Bank - Bãi Phúc Nguyên, Prince
of Wales Bank- Bãi Phúc Tần, Rifleman Bank- Bãi Vũng Mây , Vanguard Bank- Bãi
Tư Chính
In early years Vietnam has been the only country opposing Chinese domination of the South China Sea and engaged them in armed conflict over the Spratly Islands. Forgetting its own recent bloody history, and steps taken by Vietnam towards a “honeymoon” with the US, escalated the issue among all the parties. Recent developments and after a short period the road to “honeymoon” came to an end. Not only in theory but in its practice has shown that Vietnam prefers to be a neutral country in a multipolar world to develop relations with all the major powers. Having said that, considering Vietnam’s faltering and ever changing diplomacy, the dispute will always be an issue but more as a “bargaining chip” than actual conflict.
Vietnam
developed economic partnerships with Japan, India, China, South Korea, Spain,
the UK, and Germany but Russia was granted special access as a strategic
partner, and in 2009 Vietnam and China became comprehensive strategic partners
and China became the top trade partner.
The
joint statement issued by Vietnamese president Truong Tan Sang and Russian
President Vladimir Putin reiterating that territorial disputes should be
resolved by peaceful means without the use of force or the threat to use
force based on international law including the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea. Both also agreed to include regional security on the agenda of the
East Asia Summit. (5)
Chinese
and Vietnamese senior officials co-chaired 15th Meeting of the China-Vietnam
Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation in Hanoi and reached a series of
consensus points on advancing comprehensive strategic cooperation between the
two countries, vowing to maintain the South China Sea as a sea of peace and
cooperation.
During
the meeting with Bui Thanh Son, Wang also called the two sides to actively
promote mutually beneficial maritime cooperation, prevent the intervention of
external forces, accelerate consultations on the Code of Conduct on South China
Sea. (6)
Chinese
President Xi Jinping called on China and Vietnam to solve the South China Sea
issue through bilateral consultations. He said China and Vietnam can
manage their differences and promote maritime cooperation through friendly
negotiations. He called on the two countries to achieve substantial progress on
the joint development of wider areas of the South China Sea at an early date
and transform maritime challenges into opportunities for cooperation. (7)
China
and Vietnam agreed on Thursday to implement a consensus reached previously by
the leaders of both countries regarding the South China Sea so as to solve the
issue via negotiations and dialogue. (8)
Considering the fact that these approach and reproachment was before the
multipolar world order, we can expect that the following steps will be more
positive.
Malaysia;
According
to same source; Malaysia occupies a total of five features in the Spratly
Islands. They are clustered in the southern portion of the archipelago, closest
to the Malaysian state of Sabah.
Ardasier
Reef- Terumbu Ubi, Erica Reef- Terumbu Siput, Investigator Shoal - Terumbu
Peninjau, Mariveles Reef- Terumbu Montanani , Swallow Reef- Pulau
Layang-Layang, other sources add Dallas Reef, Laya Reef, Siput Reef.
As
an example, January 2014, Malaysia dismissed Western Media reports that China's
navy ships patrolled an area which is also claimed by the Southeast Asian
country, referring to them as inaccurate.
Royal
Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said China was actually holding a
high-level maritime exercise in the northwest of the Nansha islands (regarded
by the Philippines as Spratly islands), which was far away from Malaysia's 200
nm exclusive economic zone, according to the New Strait Times Wednesday.
"There has been no act of
provocation on the part of the Chinese or threat to our sovereignty," said
Aziz, adding that Malaysia and the United States was aware of this.” (9)
On
his recent interview former Malaysian
prime minister Mahathir” said;
“ We settled problems with
discussing, especially with the neighbors”, “US is not in South China , but
they like to get involve- they like to sell guns”. “The US seems to like
provoking confrontation between nations to the point of causing them to go to
war against each other, as happened between Ukraine and Russia. I don't think
the Philippines wants to go and fight China. It's not capable of that. If it
does, what happened to Ukraine will happen to the Philippines. I don't think
they want that.” (10)
It
is quite clear that the overrated “dispute “ as far as Malaysia is
concerned is a product of Western wishful thinking and fantasy, yet it is a
tactic of driving a wedge between the countries of the region.
Philippines;
According
to the same source; The Philippines occupies a total of nine features in the
Spratly Islands. Thitu Island, the largest, boasts the only Philippine airstrip
in the Spratly Islands.
Commodore
Reef- Rizal Reef, Flat Island- Patag Island, Loaita Cay-Melchora
Aquino/ Panata Island, Loaita Island- Kota Island, Nanshan
Island-Lawak island, North East Cay- Parola Island, Second
Thomas Shoal - Ayungin Shoal, Thitu Island- Pagasa Island,
West York Island-Likas Island
As early as 1970s the Philippines claimed sovereignty over a large number of the Spratly Islands, and occupied several of them which had Chinese protest and labeling Philippines as the vessel of US imperialism’s aggressive policy and war schemes in Asia.
During
1975 Philippines
had a similar policy followed by Malaysia yet without any principles and
overall outlook. All the following years, Philippines have had constantly altering stands on the issue. Historically,
Philippines have been trailing the US policy and practices in the region-it was
the only country in the South East Asia actively supporting the US war in
Vietnam. It’s unending anti-communist rhetoric and blaming the “communists”
for everything going “bad” in Philippines, it never had its own independent
world outlook but that of the US.
This
"good cop, bad cop" approach by the Philippine government actually
reflects the internal conflicts among various departments, some experts
believe. The latest statement from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
also indicates his very limited ability to control various departments, institutions,
and political forces, they noted.
The
contradictory statements from different Philippine departments indicate that
there are differing opinions within the country regarding its South China Sea
policy. (11)
There
is absolutely no doubt that this whole dispute is entirely about the Americans
trying to make life difficult for the Chinese. The aggression that is building
up against China and the scapegoating of China by the whole of the so-called
democratic community of the world is appalling.
The
legal question is that the Philippines has no legal claim to the Spratly
Islands. The Filipino claim to the Nansha Islands is absurd. (12) (
The
Philippines will
upgrade existing facilities on its inhabited islands and reefs in the South
China Sea and not occupy new territories, adhering to a 2002 informal code in
the disputed waters, its defense and military officials said Friday.
A
statement from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's office on Thursday said
he had ordered troops to occupy uninhabited islands and shoals that the
Philippines claims in the disputed waterway, asserting Philippine sovereignty
in an apparent change of tack likely to anger China.
"The
president's order was very crystal clear. Occupy only the existing areas that
we claim," a navy commander, privy to development plans in the South China
Sea, said Friday.
"The
Philippines is not allowed to do that, occupy new territories in the Spratly
[Nansha Islands as China calls it], based on the 2002 agreement," said the
navy official.
"What
he really meant was the already-occupied areas," Philippine military
spokesperson Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said. (13)
The
prospect for a negotiated settlement between China and the Philippines over
some Nansha islands and islets appears possible with the change of government
in Manila. Washington is inciting disputes between Beijing and Manila for
its own gain.
China
has been insisting on the principle that disputes could be shelved as both
sides could engage in joint projects to develop resources in the region.
China;
According
to AMTI China has 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and 7 in the Spratly
Islands.
Cuarteron
Reef- Huayang
Jiao, Fiery Cross Reef- Yongshu Jiao Gaven Reefs - Nanxun Jiao, Hughes Reef-
Dongmen Jiao, Johnson South Reef - Chiguo Jiao, Mischief Reef - Meiji Jiao,
Subi Reef - Zhubi Jiao. Other sources add ; Huayang Reef, Yongshu Reef, , Nanxun Reef and Xinan Reef,
Dongmen Reef, Chigua Reef, , Meiji Reef, Taiwan; Centre Cay, Zhongzhou
Reef, Itu Aba Island, Taiping Island
"China
has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and rights
of jurisdiction over relevant waters … The history of the issue of Ren'ai Jiao
is very clear. For its own geopolitical interests, the US has repeatedly
meddled in and provoked the maritime issues between China and the Philippines.
On the one hand, it has encouraged and supported the Philippines' infringement
and provocations in the South China Sea, and even blatantly supported the
Philippines by threatening to invoke the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty
at every turn."
"On
the other hand, the US has ignored facts, distorted right and wrong, amplified
disputes and provoked confrontation, and made groundless accusations against
China's legitimate rights protection.
The Chinese Embassy in Vietnam said in its statement released on Sunday that;
"Thanks to the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the situation
in the South China Sea has remained generally stable. Countries in the region
should remain on high alert to external interference and continue to firmly
hold the leading role in solving the problem in their own hands." (14)
China’s
attitude has been a compromising one for those who choose peace and neutrality,
that is for all except Philippines who choose more often to be on the side of
US rather than its neighboring countries.
As
early as August of 1990, Chinese Premier
Li Peng made clear in a statement in Singapore, that China was interested in
pursuing joint development of the Spratly Islands saying that: "China is ready to join
efforts to develop the islands, while putting aside for the time being the
question of sovereignty. " ****In July 1991, China went even further by
agreeing with the other claimants at a meeting in Indonesia not to conduct
independent development of the islands. (15)
China's maritime entitlements in
the South China Sea are inextricably linked to questions of territorial title
over lands and maritime areas in the South China Sea from both
historical and legal perspectives and are therefore clearly excluded from
compulsory international dispute settlement under United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). (16)
China
had dealings with other nations regarding territorial disputes, and has
resolved a number of them peacefully. “Peoples Republic of China has
demonstrated great flexibility in negotiating boundary settlements in an
attempt to bolster amicable relations and maintain a favorable balance of
power.” (17)
The
more important characterization driving Chinese policy for decades has
remained, as one Chinese government adviser observed in 1996, that the Spratly
dispute is "small in scale and local in nature."
China's
current claims on its ocean frontier comprise three main elements: claim to territorial sovereignty
over Taiwan and other ROC-controlled islands, claim to territorial sovereignty
over a large number of other small islands in the South China Sea (Paracel and
Spratly islands) or East China Sea (Senkaku Islands), and claims to maritime
resource jurisdictions (not sovereignty) that might flow to China if its claims
to the land territories were recognized by adjacent states.
With
the exception of the claim to the Senkaku Islands, the territorial claims of
China haven't changed since before 1949.
China
appears to claim sovereignty over submerged reefs that wouldn't normally
qualify as land territory.
It's
regularly asserted by some scholars, media commentators and other analysts that
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea. But that is
based on a misunderstanding of the so-called nine-dashed line that China
has repeatedly included in maps of the South China since 1947.
In an address by Premier Li Peng to the National People's Congress in 1995, he stated:
"A stable force behind preservation of world peace, China will not pose a threat to any country. China is ready to settle disputes through dialogue on the basis of equality and bilateral negotiation." (18)
China's ocean frontier has, for the most part, never been settled in the five centuries since the idea of maritime borders under international law was first articulated in 1609. China's primary motivation in recent South China Sea military activities, then, is to defend what it sees as its island territories which neighboring countries have attempted to usurp. (18)
Conclusion
US
profits from all the confrontations both economically and strategically; it
provokes and extends war in Ukraine, in Middle East, Myanmar and in the South China Sea. In an exclusive
interview with the Global Times, former prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir
bin Mohamad said that the US seems to like provoking confrontation between
nations to the point of causing them to go to war against each other, as
happened between Ukraine and Russia. ASEAN does not want to choose sides between
China and the US, and we have to accept that we need to maintain good relations
with China”. .. The US is a big arms dealer. They can only sell their arms when
there is tension and war….
“ASEAN
cherishes trade as an important contribution toward development. If you have
confrontation or sanctions, then you cannot trade. We do not want to be
against China or the US. We want to be friends. We want to be trading partners
with both countries. So we cannot take sides because we cannot lose the
Chinese market. Nor can we lose the American market.”… There are 10 different
countries, and not all are thinking the same. But generally speaking, ASEAN is
all about peace and no war. We are not interested in taking sides…. "I
don't think the Philippines wants to go and fight China. It's not capable of
that," (19)
In
the eyes of regional countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and
Indonesia, the
act that brings external powers into the regional issue like what the
Philippines is doing right now is irresponsible and absolutely unhelpful for
the peaceful settlement on the maritime issue, analysts said.
This is why no regional countries
speak for Manila's provocation, and China will keep working with other regional
countries to proceed negotiation process for the Code of Conduct in the
South China Sea
Washington's meddling is the root
cause of the current tension
disrupting regional peace and stability… It must also be recognized that the
Spratly demand an economic solution more than a military or political
one.
What is at stake in the disputed zone are not only
large amounts of hydrocarbon energy, fishing, and one of the most important maritime
corridors and trade routes in the world. Chinese trade and energy
supplies would be disrupted if maritime movement is halted in the South China
Sea, which is why the US military is heavily focused on having a presence in
the area.
US leaders are not willing to
directly confront China.
Instead they are using countries like the Philippines as pawns,
leverage, and negotiating chips to either bargain with or obstruct an
increasingly assertive and economically prosperous China.
The provocation from the
Philippines is a repetition of old tricks, and the statement from the US State
Department and its officials is nothing but a cliché. The US' stance pretends
that it is still the "world's police" and the master of the Asia-Pacific
region. In fact, the unrest in the South China Sea and the Philippine
provocation in Ren'ai Jiao cannot be separated from the incitement and support
of the US. As an external force, the US manipulates camp confrontations for
geopolitical purposes and advances military deployments and actions in the
South China Sea, which is the root cause of the escalation of disputes and
conflicts in the region.
Chen Xiangmiao, director of the
World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea
Studies, told the Global Times that the US supports the Philippines in
continuously conducting bilateral or multilateral exercises in the South China
Sea, with the actual purpose of creating an illusion of high unity between the
international community and the US and attempting to isolate China. Meanwhile,
the escalation of military cooperation between the US and the Philippines may
deepen the Philippines' dependence on US military aid. The Philippines
seems to get the backing of the US, but in reality, the Philippines may
further fall into the trap of US military aid and become an "ATM"
for the US. “
This also proves that the
Philippine side's pretext of "safeguarding the interests of
fishermen" is not true, while the attempt to gain benefits in the
South China Sea illegally is true.
Manila has created trouble in
Ren'ai Jiao, Huangyan Dao, Tiexian Jiao, Xianbin Jiao and so on, cooperating
with non-regional forces in the South China Sea to engage in "joint
cruises" and "joint military exercises," repeatedly threatening
to go to the so-called "second arbitration" and using supply vessels
and civilian ships to cause trouble. These various tactics are invariably
curbed by the Chinese side, and the Philippines did not take advantage of a
little bit. (20)
As
history has proven in other regions numerous times, the US policy in this
region is to benefit through creating conflict. The western media presents
with its headlines and commentaries that the conflict has nothing to do with
the US, but it is China and it is between China and Philippines. “Why China,
Philippines Keep Clashing at Sea and What Comes Next” is a typical headline to
serve this narrative. Bloomberg states;
“China’s purpose in publicizing its exercises is “to display the Chinese
military’s determination and capability in safeguarding its rights and
interests in the South China Sea… Tensions between China and the Philippines
have flared in recent months. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month
warned that relations between Beijing and Manila were facing “serious
difficulties” amid the friction in the body of water that Beijing claims
nearly entirely as its own. “ (21)
Reading
through the comments and approaches clearly show that although China and
Vietnam have claim almost for all the islands-islets-reefs, they do not antagonistically
insist on their claims but to find a solution diplomatically rather than
militarily for the benefit of all five respective countries. Overlapping
island-islet ownership, maritime rights and trade routes creates a situation
where it can only be solved through negotiations since the alternative will
have disastrous, destructive consequences for the most, especially for the
small but speedily developing countries of the region. That is why the US
uses Philippines as pawns, leverage, and negotiating chips to either
bargain with or obstruct China’s
economic development and sphere of influence. Although some of the other ASIAN
countries voice their concerns , they stay away from being a pawn of the US
in its conflict of interests with China in order to remain the only hegemonic
country of the world. Neo-Cons of the US are still living in a fantasy world
with a denial of the fact that the world order is not unipolar anymore. The unrest in Philippines due to economic
conditions is spreading. China is the top trading partner for the Philippines
with over $40 billion, it’s trade is $20
billion with the US.
China
had been the top export market for Philippine bananas since 2018. Due to latest
“conflicts” with China on the sea, China reduced it’s banana import
substantially from Philippines. Considering the fact that agriculture plays
a significant role in the Philippine economy and makes up of about 40 percent
of Filipino workers (that is almost 25% of work force) it contributes an
average of 20 percent to the GDP. If China stops or even reduces importing banana, pineapples, coconuts and
avocado, Philippines agriculture would
be in shambles. The producers are already protesting the government and the
opposition to the government’s pro-US stand is gaining momentum. Adding to
this the existing guerilla movement, how long the Philippines will play the
role of US proxy in the region becomes questionable.
As
a party to the ASEAN, Philippines standing alone as a war-proxy of the US.
It’s change of attitude will ease the conflict in South China Sea for a peaceful
solution and that seems plausible for it’s own sake before it is too late
because a war against China on its own door steps is bound to be lost.
Erdogan
Ahmet
April- July 2024
Vietnam, Malaysia
Notes
(1) Spratly Islands Dispute; can ASEAN provide
the framework for a solution?” US Army War College
(2)
Anthony Carty “The History and Sovereignty of South China Sea “
(3)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314299.shtml
(4)
Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
(5)
https://nghiencuubiendong.vn/dien-bien-phap-ly-moi-tren-bien-dong-philippines-de-trinh-them-luc-dia-mo-rong-len-uy-ban-ranh-gioi-them-luc-dia-lien-hop-quoc.56572.anews
(6)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1302889.shtml
(7)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-09/13/c_135685466.htm
(8)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/734386.shtml
(9)NYT
Archive
https://archive.nytimes.com/sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/malaysian-admiral-plays-down-talk-of-chinese-naval-incursion/
(10)
** Video of interview
(11) https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314818.shtml
(12)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1310059.shtml
(13)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-philippines/philippines-to-upgrade-facilities-not-occupy-new-areas-in-disputed-sea-military-idUSKBN1790FX/
(14)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314693.shtml
(15)
**** Eric Hyer, The South China Sea Disputes: Implications of China's Earlier
Territorial settlement
(16)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1209567.shtml#:~:text=China's%20maritime%20entitlements%20in%20the,dispute%20settlement%20under%20United%20Nations
(17)
Eric Hyer, The South China Sea Disputes: Implications of China's Earlier
Territorial settlement
(18)
Chanda, "Fear of the Dragon"
(19)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314662.shtml
(20)
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314299.shtml
(21)https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-04/china-holds-sea-patrols-as-us-philippines-drill-in-same-region
.jpg)
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