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NEW DELHI: Under the coronavirus pandemic, China has intensified its aggressive expansionism both in the South China Sea and has raised concerns not only among its smaller neighbors but also in India and the US. USA
Last Sunday, China renamed 80 geographic features in the South China Sea: standard names for 25 islands and reefs and 55 underwater geographic entities in a move that has worried the region, indicating that China was establishing sovereignty over parts. of the South China Sea covered by a 9-stroke line that is considered illegal under international law. The islands included include Sanzhizai, an islet north of Yongxing Island in Sansha City, Hainan Province, southern China.
The pandemic, according to sources here monitoring these movements, has not stopped China from pursuing its longer-term strategic goals in the region. Indian security officials said on condition of anonymity: “We are one step away from everything, but China’s double standards regarding its aggressive stance towards its smaller and weaker neighbors and the insistence that other countries remain sensitive to its concerns (such as Taiwan, Tibet, etc.) is becoming more apparent. ”
This occurs after Chinese ships rammed and sank a Vietnamese ship three days after Vietnam protested to the UN against China’s claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea. Chinese action sparked protests from the Philippines to the United States. Manila, going against Beijing in a movement that raised its eyebrows, issued a statement saying: “Our own similar experience revealed how much trust in a friendship is lost by it and how much trust was created by Vietnam’s humanitarian act of directly saving life from our Filipino fishermen. ” United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised Chinese “harassment” activities in the South China Sea that distract from current efforts to deal with the pandemic. ”
The Philippines unusually filed two protests against China for violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty in the Western Philippine Sea.
Last week, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi filed a protest against China for sending his ships to Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japan contends that Chinese ships have entered Japanese waters, including on one occasion filing the area for about 90 minutes.
In response, a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the second time in a month. Last week, US warships even sailed in contested waters off Malaysia, to deter Chinese ships that have been intimidating a Malaysian oil tanker for weeks. This was in response to the Chinese aircraft carrier that was moving close to Taiwan.
Abhijit Singh of ORF observed: “For three reasons, the crisis unfolding in the South China Sea has implications for India. First, Chinese militia operations have focused on the western end of the region near the Indian Ocean region, targeting countries like Vietnam and Indonesia with which India has a close political and military relationship. Second, China’s increasing presence on the coast coincides with an increase in Chinese activity in the eastern Indian Ocean, particularly the presence of Chinese research and prospecting vessels in the Indian EEZs. Third, the increasing operations of China’s deep-sea mining vessels, fishing fleets and intelligence vessels in the Indian Ocean, an indication of Beijing’s growing economic and strategic footprint in India’s natural sphere of influence . The bottom line for Delhi is this: once China signs its grip on the South China Sea, it will use outposts on the islands to boost greater military power in the eastern Indian Ocean. ”
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Last Sunday, China renamed 80 geographic features in the South China Sea: standard names for 25 islands and reefs and 55 underwater geographic entities in a move that has worried the region, indicating that China was establishing sovereignty over parts. of the South China Sea covered by a 9-stroke line that is considered illegal under international law. The islands included include Sanzhizai, an islet north of Yongxing Island in Sansha City, Hainan Province, southern China.
The pandemic, according to sources here monitoring these movements, has not stopped China from pursuing its longer-term strategic goals in the region. Indian security officials said on condition of anonymity: “We are one step away from everything, but China’s double standards regarding its aggressive stance towards its smaller and weaker neighbors and the insistence that other countries remain sensitive to its concerns (such as Taiwan, Tibet, etc.) is becoming more apparent. ”
This occurs after Chinese ships rammed and sank a Vietnamese ship three days after Vietnam protested to the UN against China’s claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea. Chinese action sparked protests from the Philippines to the United States. Manila, going against Beijing in a movement that raised its eyebrows, issued a statement saying: “Our own similar experience revealed how much trust in a friendship is lost by it and how much trust was created by Vietnam’s humanitarian act of directly saving life from our Filipino fishermen. ” United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised Chinese “harassment” activities in the South China Sea that distract from current efforts to deal with the pandemic. ”
The Philippines unusually filed two protests against China for violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty in the Western Philippine Sea.
Last week, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi filed a protest against China for sending his ships to Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japan contends that Chinese ships have entered Japanese waters, including on one occasion filing the area for about 90 minutes.
In response, a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the second time in a month. Last week, US warships even sailed in contested waters off Malaysia, to deter Chinese ships that have been intimidating a Malaysian oil tanker for weeks. This was in response to the Chinese aircraft carrier that was moving close to Taiwan.
Abhijit Singh of ORF observed: “For three reasons, the crisis unfolding in the South China Sea has implications for India. First, Chinese militia operations have focused on the western end of the region near the Indian Ocean region, targeting countries like Vietnam and Indonesia with which India has a close political and military relationship. Second, China’s increasing presence on the coast coincides with an increase in Chinese activity in the eastern Indian Ocean, particularly the presence of Chinese research and prospecting vessels in the Indian EEZs. Third, the increasing operations of China’s deep-sea mining vessels, fishing fleets and intelligence vessels in the Indian Ocean, an indication of Beijing’s growing economic and strategic footprint in India’s natural sphere of influence . The bottom line for Delhi is this: once China signs its grip on the South China Sea, it will use outposts on the islands to boost greater military power in the eastern Indian Ocean. ”
