Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday announced visa restrictions on Chinese citizens responsible for or involved in large-scale reclamation, construction or militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea, including senior Chinese state-owned enterprises, Communist Party officials and the People’s Liberation Army, whose immediate family members may also be subject to restrictions, to further safeguard freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
In a statement posted on the State Department’s website, Pompeo said the United States and all law-abiding nations have a strong interest in maintaining a free and open South China Sea. All nations, regardless of military and economic power, should be free to enjoy the rights and freedoms guaranteed by international law, as reflected in the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, without fear of coercion.
“Today, the United States is taking further action to defend those rights and freedoms. Pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the State Department has imposed visa restrictions on a number of individuals from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including executives of state-owned enterprises, officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and PLA (Chinese Communist Army) naval officers, and others responsible for or involved in the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed posts in the (CCP) South China Sea, or involved in Chinese (CCP) ) who coerce Southeast Asian claimants into actions that stop their access to offshore resources in the South China Sea.” Pompeo said.
The secretary of state went on to say, “Immediate family members (of those subject to sanctions) may also be subject to these visa restrictions.”
Last August, the U.S. government announced similar visa restrictions, but the State Department did not specify that Chinese Communist Party officials and executives of state-owned enterprises were the targets of the sanctions. Last July, the United States formally rejected Beijing’s “illegal” territorial claims in the South China Sea and condemned the Communist Party’s “bullying activities” in the region.
In recent years, the Chinese regime has sought to increase its sovereignty in the strategic waterway by establishing military posts on artificial islands and reefs. In addition, the Communist Party has deployed coast guard vessels and Chinese fishing boats to intimidate foreign vessels, block waterways, and occupy shoals and reefs.
The South China Sea is rich in fishing grounds and potentially valuable natural resources, and is one of the world’s major transportation routes.
On Thursday, Pompeo said in a statement that in a unanimous decision on July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal constituted by the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea ruled to reject a maritime claim by the Chinese Communist Party in the South China Sea, finding no basis in international law for the claim, to which it is a party. Last July, the U.S. position on the CCP’s maritime claims in the South China Sea was consistent with the tribunal’s ruling and reaffirmed the U.S. rejection of the CCP’s illegal maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Pompeo also referred to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision on Thursday to blacklist Chinese Communist Party state-owned company CNOOC for export controls.
In a statement, he said the Commerce Department has added China National Offshore Oil (CNOOC) Ltd. to the “Entity List” for its role in the Communist Party’s coercive campaign against other claimants, with approximately $2.5 trillion in oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. The Chinese Communist Party has weaponized CNOOC and other state-owned enterprises in an attempt to enforce Beijing’s illegal “nine-dash line” claim.
“In 2014, CNOOC used its massive survey equipment, HD-981, to intimidate Vietnam near the Paracel Islands (Paracel Islands). CNOOC executives at the time touted that oil rig as ‘moveable national territory.'” The statement reads.
Pompeo said Beijing continues to send fishing fleets and energy survey vessels, escorted by military personnel, to operate in waters claimed by Southeast Asian countries for protection and to harass those countries’ oil and gas development.
“It is consistent with international law for the United States to align itself with Southeast Asian claimants seeking to assert their sovereign rights and interests. We will continue to act until we see an end to Beijing’s bullying in the South China Sea.” The Secretary of State concluded.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an interim Information and Communications Technology (ICTS) rule on the same day that lists China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela’s Maduro regime as foreign adversaries and prohibits parts of the U.S. ICTS supply chain from transacting with the governments or businesses of those countries. These rules will take effect 60 days after the date of publication.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the inclusion of China National Offshore Oil on the U.S. trade blacklist, accusing CNOOC of assisting China to intimidate its neighbors in the South China Sea; and the inclusion of Chinese state-owned enterprise Tianjiao Aviation Industry Investment Co., Ltd. on the military end-user list, referring to Tianjiao’s ability to develop, produce or maintain military equipment, such as military aircraft engines, which poses a significant threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.
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