China gets caught between its deceptive diplomacy and its imperial aggression
Tom Rogan
Supported by its ambassadors in the West, such as Emmanuel Macron, China pretends that it seeks only “win-win cooperation,” mutual respect, and the avoidance of “bloc confrontation.” Unfortunately for China, the Philippines just proved how shallow those claims truly are.
“Shallow” is the operative word here.
CHINA CLAIMS US NUCLEAR SUBMARINE IN SOUTH KOREA ‘SOURCE OF TENSION’ IN REGION
Last Sunday, a Philippines coast guard vessel was operating in the Second Thomas Shoal area of the South China Sea. But this time, the ship had a special complement: a delegation of foreign journalists invited along to see how China treats visitors to international waters.
What followed was a series of escalating threats by Chinese ships that the Philippines vessel depart the waters. Refusing to do so — after all, these waters are international waters — the Philippines vessel was chased and eventually blocked from exercising its right to free navigation.
The journalists present reported how a Chinese vessel made a sudden turn toward them, risking a collision. A reporter also correctly noted that these Chinese ships have been turning off their location transponders and shining high-power lasers into the bridges of Filipino vessels. This is a tactic also applied by China’s fishing hordes, which are draining the world’s Oceans of maritime life.
Predictably, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson tried to shift the blame on Friday.
Claiming that the Filipino vessels had intruded into Chinese waters, the spokesperson stated that “One of them made deliberate provocative moves by closing in on a Chinese Coast Guard vessel. In accordance with the law, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel upheld China’s sovereignty and maritime order by making timely maneuvers to dodge the dangerously approaching Philippine vessel and avoid collision. The Chinese side’s maneuvers were professional and restrained.” The spokesperson added that the journalists’ presence was “a premeditated provocation designed to deliberately create a friction, be blamed on China and hyped up in the media.”
This rhetoric would be laughable were it not so outrageous.
An international maritime tribunal has found that China’s claims to the South China Sea, including the waters involved in this incident, are effectively non-existent under maritime law. Independent journalists also clearly report that it was China, not the Philippines, that was responsible for the provocation here. China’s ships created the unsafe situation that risked life and property.
Beijing’s petulant and deceptive assertions to the contrary show what happens when it gets caught in one of its many lies — it blusters that it has been unfairly smeared.
The facts stand. Indeed, to understand just how ridiculous China’s claims of ownership over these waters truly are, look at the map below. It shows the distance from the Second Thomas Shoal to the nearest Chinese sovereign territory, Hainan Island. The distance is 717 miles. The distance between that Shoal and the Philippines island of Palawan is 137 miles, well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Now consider a second map. This one shows the area of the South China Sea that China claims constitutes its sovereign waters. It’s basically the entire South China Sea.
China is engaging in imperialism, pure and simple.
Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz choose to ignore it so that they can enjoy the benefits of Chinese trade, but China is attacking the most basic principles of international law. It is doing so with the aim of dominating trade routes that are worth around $5 trillion a year, to seize control over rich fishing and energy reserves, and to send the message that the Indo-Pacific is no longer free, but rather a Chinese Communist Party fiefdom.
The Philippines deserves credit for holding a light to this injustice. As President Bongbong Marcos strengthens U.S. ties against Beijing’s increasing pressure, Washington should stand resolutely in his nation’s support.