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China needs to show restraint in South China Sea
In this file photo, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, right, shakes hands with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie during their meeting at the Presidential Malacanang palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, May 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Confrontations between China, Vietnam and the Philippines over the countries' territorial rights in the South China Sea are intensifying as a result of China's increasingly active maritime presence. In Vietnam, residents have staged anti-China demonstrations, and the Philippines started joint naval exercises with the U.S. military on June 28. Taiwan, which also claims territorial rights, is expected to begin military exercises of its own in the near future.
Even in Japan, which is still busy dealing with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, there has been an atmosphere of imminent military activity. The issue is certainly not merely someone else's problem.
The tension brings to mind friction between Japan and China last autumn over territorial rights to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. It is clear that China has adopted an expansion policy in the East and South China seas.
China is said to be trying to increase its sphere of influence near Japan, between the line of islands extending from Kyushu to Taiwan and the Philippines, and the line connecting the Izu Islands, the Ogasawara Islands and Guam. It seems that China has taken a step beyond the approach of hiding strength in modesty that was promoted by the late Deng Xiaoping. Now, it appears that the country is trying to expand its own "inland sea," as if it were in competition against the United States.
Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this month a Chinese vessel fired a warning shot at a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Spratly Islands, and a Vietnamese research boat conducting an ocean floor survey within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone was obstructed by a Chinese vessel carrying cable-cutting equipment. The ministry said that Chinese boats cut cables and fired warning shots the previous month as well. In mid-June, Vietnam launched a military exercise in the South China Sea using live ammunition, increasing tension between Vietnam and China.
Furthermore, a Chinese maritime research vessel entered Japan's exclusive economic zone off Miyagi Prefecture on June 23.
Such movements by Chinese vessels cannot be permitted. No doubt China is eyeing oil resources in both the East and South China seas, but as Asia's largest country and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it must refrain from sparking disturbances in the peaceful sea.
No doubt China has its own case to make. It says that problems in the South China Sea should be solved by the two countries that are involved -- and that the United States is not one of those parties. But as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in the Two-Plus-Two security talks between Japan and the U.S., China has certainly raised tensions in the region. Furthermore, there is criticism that Chinese vessels' firing of warning shots goes against the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed in 2002.
The first U.S.-China consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs, held on June 25 between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Cui Tiankai, ended without agreement. Nevertheless, as the United States maintains, problems in the South China Sea should be tackled within a framework that includes many countries. We hope that Japan and the U.S. will cooperate closely to address the issues at the ASEAN Regional Forum and at the East Asia Summit that the U.S. and Russia will participate in for the first time this autumn.
China needs to show restraint in South China Sea
In this file photo, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, right, shakes hands with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie during their meeting at the Presidential Malacanang palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday, May 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)Confrontations between China, Vietnam and the Philippines over the countries' territorial rights in the South China Sea are intensifying as a result of China's increasingly active maritime presence. In Vietnam, residents have staged anti-China demonstrations, and the Philippines started joint naval exercises with the U.S. military on June 28. Taiwan, which also claims territorial rights, is expected to begin military exercises of its own in the near future.
Even in Japan, which is still busy dealing with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, there has been an atmosphere of imminent military activity. The issue is certainly not merely someone else's problem.
The tension brings to mind friction between Japan and China last autumn over territorial rights to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. It is clear that China has adopted an expansion policy in the East and South China seas.
China is said to be trying to increase its sphere of influence near Japan, between the line of islands extending from Kyushu to Taiwan and the Philippines, and the line connecting the Izu Islands, the Ogasawara Islands and Guam. It seems that China has taken a step beyond the approach of hiding strength in modesty that was promoted by the late Deng Xiaoping. Now, it appears that the country is trying to expand its own "inland sea," as if it were in competition against the United States.
Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this month a Chinese vessel fired a warning shot at a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Spratly Islands, and a Vietnamese research boat conducting an ocean floor survey within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone was obstructed by a Chinese vessel carrying cable-cutting equipment. The ministry said that Chinese boats cut cables and fired warning shots the previous month as well. In mid-June, Vietnam launched a military exercise in the South China Sea using live ammunition, increasing tension between Vietnam and China.
Furthermore, a Chinese maritime research vessel entered Japan's exclusive economic zone off Miyagi Prefecture on June 23.
Such movements by Chinese vessels cannot be permitted. No doubt China is eyeing oil resources in both the East and South China seas, but as Asia's largest country and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it must refrain from sparking disturbances in the peaceful sea.
No doubt China has its own case to make. It says that problems in the South China Sea should be solved by the two countries that are involved -- and that the United States is not one of those parties. But as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in the Two-Plus-Two security talks between Japan and the U.S., China has certainly raised tensions in the region. Furthermore, there is criticism that Chinese vessels' firing of warning shots goes against the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed in 2002.
The first U.S.-China consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs, held on June 25 between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Cui Tiankai, ended without agreement. Nevertheless, as the United States maintains, problems in the South China Sea should be tackled within a framework that includes many countries. We hope that Japan and the U.S. will cooperate closely to address the issues at the ASEAN Regional Forum and at the East Asia Summit that the U.S. and Russia will participate in for the first time this autumn.
If this keeps up, China may find itself up against a very strange alliance indeed.
Take that, China!
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