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BEIJING (AP) – A look at recent events in the South China Sea, where China faces smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. The waters are an important transportation route for world trade and are rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves.
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CHINA SEND WARPLANES OVER TAIWAN
China flooded the Taiwan Strait at the northern end of the South China Sea with fighter jets for two days last week in an apparent attempt to intimidate the autonomous island democracy it claims as its own territory.
The drills were scheduled to coincide with a visit to Taiwan by a senior U.S. envoy for the talks and to attend a memorial service for former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui, who led the island’s transition to full democracy in the face of Chinese threats.
China’s Defense Ministry said the planes, including 32 fighters of various types, four bombers and one anti-submarine warplane, crossed Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Friday and Saturday. Taiwan responded by activating its ground air defense systems and fighting the fighters, who ordered the Chinese planes to leave, saying they would “bear all the consequences” if they did not.
The Taiwan Strait is a heavily traveled transit route to and from the South China Sea, roughly divided between China to the west and Taiwan to the east.
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CHINA COAST GUARD LEAVES INDONESIAN WATERS
An Indonesian patrol boat confronted a Chinese coast guard boat that spent nearly three days in waters where Indonesia claims economic rights and lies near the southernmost part of the disputed claims in the South China Sea.
“We asked them to move as it was the Indonesian EEZ. But they insisted that it is the nine-line territory of China. Our officers on the ship argued with them until they moved in, ”said Aan Kurnia, head of the Indonesian Maritime Safety Agency.
“The Chinese coast guard ship finally set sail from the North Sea from Natuna on Monday at 11:20 am,” he said.
China’s “nine-dash line” outlines its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. A 2016 international arbitration ruling involving the Philippines annulled most of China’s radical claims at sea, but China has ignored the ruling.
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US OFFICIAL: CHINA BREAKS INTO SOUTHEAST ASIA
A US official accused China last week of intimidation and insincerity in its dealings with Southeast Asian nations.
US Undersecretary of State David Stilwell said Tuesday that China’s insincerity is best illustrated by its aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, where it has turned disputed reefs into outposts on artificial islands to despite the commitment not to militarize the region.
In subsequent Senate testimony, Stilwell said it was now clear to the United States and others that China “seeks to disrupt and reshape the international environment around the narrow self-centered interests and authoritarian values of a single beneficiary, the Chinese Communist Party.” .
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out at the United States at ASEAN meetings last week, saying Washington was the “biggest driver of militarization” and the “most dangerous factor damaging the peace” in the region.
