Amid coronavirus pandemic, China pursues hegemonistic policy in South China Sea

Beijing continues to test international patience through amphibious assault activities in the South China Sea. This comes after a tense border conflict between India and China in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh region where as many as 20 Indian Army personnel were martyred.

New Delhi:Even as the world is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year, Beijing continues to test international patience through its hegemonistic approach in the South China Sea where it is involved in territorial disputes with several countries.

This comes even as India and China are involved in a tense border conflict in the Ladakh region, resulting in the first fatalities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 45 years and sparking global concerns.

Last week, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy started naval exercises in the South China Sea through amphibious assault activities.

To counter China’s latest activities near the Paracel Islands, the US deployed three nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to the South China Sea.

Reacting to China’s latest expansionist designs in the region spreading from India to the South China Sea and beyond, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a media briefing on July 8 said, “From the mountain ranges of the Himalayas to the waters of Vietnam’s Exclusive Zone to the Senkaku Islands (in the East China Sea bordering Japan), and beyond, Beijing has a pattern of instigating territorial disputes. The world should not allow this bullying to take place, nor should it permit it to continue.”

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Then on Wednesday, the Global Times, the influential English newspaper that acts as a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, citing Beijing-based analysts, reported that “five US military reconnaissance aircraft have flown close to South China's Guangdong Province for three consecutive days”.

“In response to US military's provocations, the PLA can take various countermeasures- sending fighter jets to approach US aircraft and driving them out of China's airspace is just one of the countermeasures,” the Global Times warned. “The PLA can respond in kind to the US military with its manoeuvres.”

According to Abhijit Singh, who heads the Maritime Police Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, the US sending its warships to the South China Sea is a message intended for Beijing that it cannot resort to aggression in the region.

“In recent times, the activities of China’s maritime militia (non-naval personnel) in the region have increased,” Singh told ETV Bharat. “They have become all the more conspicuous.”

This, he said, is the reason why the ASEAN countries have sought the help of nations like the US and Japan.

According to B.R. Deepak, Professor of Chinese and China Studies at the Centre of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, China’s recent expansionist behaviour is not a sudden outburst but was very much in the offing.

“Since 1979, China’s focus was on reforms and economic development,” Deepak said. “After 2012, when Xi Jinping became President, it became confident enough and pushed forward its hegemonistic policies.”

He also drew a parallel between China’s territorial claims along the Line of Actual Control with India and the South China Sea islands.

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“They first claim the territory, then reclaim it, then militarise it and then change the status quo. After that, with their international clout, they try to convince global forums about their claims.”

But what will raise the hackles in Beijing is India’s plans to carry out navigation activities in the South China Sea in the face of the border confrontation in Ladakh.

Announcing this at an online forum last week, Philippines Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said, “We do not prevent other countries from passing through or doing things there in the South China Sea. The British do pass through the South China Sea. The French, all other countries. We do not invite them to come."

Stating that India is also welcome to be present in the South China Sea, Lorenzana expressed concern over the PLA Navy’s latest naval exercises.

This came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte held a telephonic discussion last month during which the former emphasised that India saw the Philippines as a vital partner in the India-Pacific, a region that stretches from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa.

India, along with the US, Japan and Australia, is part of a quad that is seeking to work for peace and stability in the India-Pacific in the face of China’s belligerence in the region.

According to Singh, though India does not have direct stakes in the South China Sea, New Delhi is concerned about the “very aggressive” behaviour of China in the region.

“India will be forced to take a much stronger stand (in the South China Sea) if China continues to be aggressive in the Himalayan region,” he said.

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Last month, at a virtual annual summit of the ASEAN leaders, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc raised concerns over China’s repeated violations of maritime laws in the South China Sea.

“While the entire world is stretched thin in the fight against the (Covid-19) pandemic, irresponsible acts in violation of international law are still taking place, affecting the security and stability in certain regions, including our region,” Phuc said.

A joint statement issued following the ASEAN summit said, “We reaffirmed that the 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) is the basis for determining maritime entitlements, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and legitimate interests over maritime zones.”

UNCLOS defines the rights and responsibilities of nations concerning their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources All waters beyond national boundaries are considered international waters - free to all nations, but belonging to none of them. According to UNCLOS, the territorial sea can be defined as the area which extends up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline of a country's coastal state.

China’s disputes in the South China Sea involve, among others, the Spratly and Paracel groups of islands that are claimed by other countries of the region.

While the other claimants over the Spratly islands are Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, the Paracel islands are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Deepak recalled that in 1974, the Paracel Islands were under Vietnam but China dislodged them militarily.

“Now, most of the Spratly islands – around 28 of them – are in the possession of Vietnam. But China has started reclaiming them to accomplish a fait accompli,” he said.

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When it comes to the Philippines, in 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague had ruled that China violated the Manila’s rights in the South China Sea, one of the busiest commercial shipping routes in the world.

The court accused China of interfering with the Philippines' fishing and petroleum exploration, building artificial islands in the waters and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone.

The tribunal held that fishermen from the Philippines had traditional fishing rights in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and that China had interfered with these rights by restricting their access.

What the ASEAN nations now, as particularly voiced by Vietnam and the Philippines, are concerned about is China’s conducting of naval exercises in international waters – beyond its territorial waters.

This is a clear departure from the 2002 Code of Conduct agreed to by Beijing and the ASEAN nations to resolve disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means.

Deepak, however, explained that while China wanted to resolve these disputes bilaterally with individual countries of the region, the ASEAN countries are taking a collective approach and seeking to find solutions as a bloc.

“Both sides are treading a fine balancing line on this,” he said, adding that China also cannot afford to strain ties with the region because of its vibrant economy.

“China’s trade with ASEAN countries is over $600 billion (in 2019) and that is why it wants an offshore power like the US to be out of the area,” Deepak said.

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China is also jittery about what former President Hu Jintao described as the "Malacca Dilemma".

The Malacca Strait is a narrow stretch of water between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra and serves as a crucial link to the South China Sea.

The Chinese are worried that the strait, which is effectively under the US control, can be choked any time if trouble arises, cutting down energy supplies from the Middle East and Africa.

Now, with the US again sending its warships to the South China Sea, it will be interesting to see the developments in the region in the days to come.

(Article by Aroonim Bhuyan)