China More Assertive Than Ever About South China Sea, Island Building Escalates Tension With US
The Chinese government has become more assertive about their rights in South China Sea and stepped up the island building activities. This has raised the concerns of Philippines, Vietnam and other immediate neighbours who also claim sovereign rights over the Spratly islands. The dramatic expansion has changed the geography of the place.
China has been dredging up sand to expand reefs in to new islands. According to the BBC reports, the most dramatic transformation is that of the Mischief reef, known to the Chinese as the Meiji Reef. The Chinese have been constructing outposts which can be used for military purposes. Philippines also have exerted a claim over this reef and this has brought its ally United States in to the conflict.
The South China Sea has become a bone of contention because of its strategic importance as an important trade route. China has marked its territory through the “infamous Nin Dash Line” and claims coastal territories up to Borneo. Till now China had not undertaken any action to impose its sovereignty, but this has changed.
This year the escalating US-China tensions are taking centre stage at the Shangri-La Dialogue, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). US have opposed any construction activity in the Spratly Islands and seeks that the status-quo remains.
Ashton Carter, US Defense Secretary in his statement asked for peaceful resolution of all disputes. “We oppose any militarization of the disputed features…US will fly, sail and operate wherever international laws allow…China is out of step with both international norms that underscore the Asia-Pacific security architecture,” he said, reports CNTV.
China has accused US of being “selectively mute on other country’s construction activities” and reiterated that “no one had the right to tell China what to do.”
It seems that both the countries are prepared for the diplomatic spat with more stakeholders joining in. Countries like Australia, Phillipines and Vietnam have jumped in to the fray.
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