These three cases are only the tip of the iceberg. In the summer of 2001, and again in 2002, Chinese ships and aircraft harassed and threatened the USNS Bowditch and the USNS Sumner, which were operating in the East China Sea.[1] Soon after the Impeccable incident, the USNS Victorious was harassed. In each of these cases, China failed to comply with its obligations under international law to show due regard for the rights of vessels and aircraft of other nations operating in the East and South China Seas.
At the same time, China has been equally obstinate in pressing specious ‘territorial’ claims to virtually the entire South China Sea. In 1953, China issued an infamous map with a U-shaped, ‘nine-dotted line’ that laid claim to 80 percent of the South China Sea. Today, the line is derisively called ‘the cow tongue.’ In 1974, China seized the Paracel Islands from Vietnam. In 1988, China again attacked Vietnamese forces on Johnson Reef and occupied six features in the Spratly Islands, and in 1994 Beijing captured Mischief Reef from the Philippines.
Ironically, most of the rocks and reefs of the Spratly and Paracel chains are merely navigational hazards and not ‘islands.’ They also lie far from China and within the 200-mile economic zones of neighboring Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. But in March, the New York Times reported that Chinese officials had told Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg that China would not tolerate ‘foreign interference’ in its ‘territory’ in the South China Sea. For the first time, Beijing has elevated the ‘the cow tongue’ to a vital national interest.
Ironically, it was Steinberg, a longtime Clinton associate, who notably coined the phrase ‘strategic reassurance’ to describe the idea that the United States should reassure China that its rise to prominence is welcome, while China should in turn reassure its neighbors that its rise is peaceful. But by claiming the South China Sea as its ‘territory,’ China is reaching far beyond its shores.
Last year, China seized 33 Vietnamese fishing boats and 433 crew members near the Paracel Islands. On April 10 of this year, farther north, a 10-ship Chinese flotilla, which included two submarines, transited between Okinawa Island and Miyakojima, another Okinawa Prefecture island. This occurred only two days after a Chinese helicopter flew within 90 feet of a MSDF destroyer monitoring the battle group, raising the danger that China was willing to endanger the safety of one of its aircraft to make a point. Then, on April 13 a Chinese Navy destroyer performed the menacing act of aiming its rapid-fire guns at a Japanese MSDF P-3C plane, demonstrating its ability to shoot down the aircraft, which was on a regular patrol mission in international airspace.
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james_002
Why do you delete my comment censorship?
obsthetimes
the countries you’ve mentioned are minnows compared to the whale that is china. China does not need to ‘take over’ countries but only make them bow to its wishes.
Japan’s pacifist constitution makes countering china impossible. The US should lean on Japan to alter its constitution.
miki
“China is a massive threat to Western World” should be rephrased as “the Yellow Peril is a massive threat to the Western World”!
Perhaps its time to bring on the Opium War II? before its too late?
Communist China could not be a threat to any one until the regime can afford to spend 500+ billions a year for at least a decade on its military. its not going to happen in my live time! So go have a drink enjoy life in peace for the next few decades!
HHyap
Now, the colonial mentality has spoken, bring on the opium war and show the world how the big used to bully, with force.
Please initiate it, just talk will only show your gutless attitude.
Let the war begin and we all shall see the result.
Don’t be a coward.
wilson
I find it revealing that China is described as ‘increasingly provocative’ when it attempts to disrupt ‘routine’ U.S. military manoeuvres! Guess where these ‘routine’ manoeuvres took place? The East China sea. Now who exactly is being ‘provocative’ here?
Whenever I hear a story, I simply switch the players and the location and reapply the rhetoric.
Here, China’s military is ‘routinely’ manoeuvring around the coast of America. The ‘provocative’ Americans attempt to disrupt these manoeuvres. Who in their right mind wouldn’t howl with laughter if the Chinese wrote something like that?
Why do we accept such obvious bullshit from western sources?
obsthetimes
Without the US navy patrolling in ‘International waters’ off China, the Chinese would willy nilly just bully every country in the region. Just becuase it is named the ’south china sea’ does not mean it belongs to china. You comment exposed your view point, that korea, japan, phillipines and vietnam just dont count!
J Baker
Where’s the proof for what you’ve just claimed? If you cannot prove what you said, you are just a nutcase who simply spouts what he wants to say without rhyme, reason nor facts. A fruitcake.
Derrick
The US will always counter any rising power in Asia…the US economy depends on access to cheap labor in China and other countries so any attempt by any nation to obtain naval hegemony will be challenged by the US.
Also, it is unsafe to assume the US would not use tactical nuclear weapons in a first strike capacity if it got involved in any type of military or naval confrontation in Asia. First off, most rising powers have a higher number of troops/ships/etc., so in a conventional conflict, their massive advantage in numbers pretty much necessitates the US use tactical nuclear weapons.
So to go down that route, any attempt by China to dominate the South China Seas is pointless because it will inevitably boil down to a nuclear confrontation, and the US has a lot more nuclear weapons than China.
Henry Seng
In regards to the debate between Ly Tran Le and Jeff, it’s rather passionate and personal. I have to agree with Jeff. We’re not even in the game, an economic game. China, a military threat? Ridiculous! Sure, they spend a few dollars to modernize their military, which is still small and backward. Why shouldn’t they? They can afford it. What we should be looking at is what they’re spending on: major infrastructure projects, like roads, bridges, railways, dams, power plants, solar power technology, electric car technology, etc. This country is going to be so competitive. We think the Japanese are competitive. Just wait and see, if you have not noticed it, yet. Simply put, we have a few giants like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, but they’re going to have a lot more. It may sound a little bit prejudice, but is not. These guys are serious economic warriors. This communism in that country was just a fluke. We’re wasting our resources in the wrong area, the military that is.
mandrewsf
China is not a threat. PLAN lacks the technology, military spending and naval experience to make it a credible challenge of U.S. naval hegemony. Note that China does not even have an aircraft carrier yet, and the two under construction are relatively backward diesel-powered platforms. And even if China could field a credible surface fleet, its weakness in air power (i.e. its lack of 5th generation fighters) will mean that most of its ships are in mortal peril if a war with the U.S. does break out.
Also, the only possible cause for a war between China and the U.S. is if a war in Taiwan breaks out. This will only happen if Taiwan declares unilateral independence, but the U.S. also pledged to not defend Taiwan if Taiwan did do something so foolhardy.
Meanwhile, drop the Impeccable incident please… The only thing this incident shows is that China no longer lack the power project capacities to project naval power beyond immediate coastal regions. Naturally they would not then tolerate U.S. surveillance ships strolling around its top secret sub bases. That’s not really saying much about Chinese “aggression.”
obsthetimes
Did you not read the article about the Dong Feng Carrier killer missile? Why is this missile being developed if China is only interested in a ‘peaceful rise’.
Michael
I’m no expert, but it seems to me that most (if not all) of these arguments could also apply to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Unless China has plans to take these countries over before they can build their own ASBNs and air forces, its hegemony would only last for a short time.