Chinese boats are anchored on rocky reefs in the South China Sea like guests who won’t leave, and increasingly so. China says they are fishing boats sheltering from storms, but they don’t appear to be fishing and dozens of boats are neatly zipping and pushing to escape storms that never come.
Not long ago, China vowed sovereignty over the South China Sea by building artificial islands in its disputed waters. Now, China’s new strategy is to keep a large number of fishing boats anchored in the disputed waters, effectively ignoring eviction orders from other countries.
The New York Times reported on Sunday (April 4) that China is doing this to achieve goals that cannot be achieved through diplomacy or international law, and to some extent, it appears to be working.
In the report, Greg Poling, head of the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), discusses his views. He said, “Beijing clearly believes that if it uses enough coercion and pressure over a long enough period of time, it can squeeze the Southeast Asians out.”
Such tactics, Poling said, “are insidious.”
The report said China’s move reflects its growing confidence under Xi Jinping. They could test it against the Biden administration and China’s neighbors in the South China Sea, who are increasingly dependent on China’s economy and supplies of the new coronavirus vaccine.
One day in March, 220 Chinese fishing boats anchored at Whitsunday Reef to take shelter from a storm. Their move sparked protests from Vietnam and the Philippines, which also claim sovereignty over the waters. Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called China’s move a “clear provocation. Vietnam’s foreign ministry accused China of violating its sovereignty and asked the ships to leave.
The report said satellite images taken by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies showed that some ships had left in the past week, but a large number remained there. Other ships moved to another reef just a few miles away, according to satellite images and Philippine officials, while another 45 Chinese ships swarmed near Thitu, another Philippine-controlled island 100 miles north of Whitsunday Reef.
Such a buildup of ships raises regional tensions and could become a point of growing confrontation between the U.S. and China, as with Taiwan, the report said. The U.S. has not yet taken a position on the South China Sea dispute, but has criticized China’s aggressive tactics there, including the militarization of bases. In recent years, the United States has sent Navy ships on routine cruises to challenge China’s alleged right to restrict any military activity — three such cruises since President Biden took office in January.
Secretary of State Blinken expressed support for the Philippines over the presence of the Chinese ships. In a tweet, he wrote, “We will always stand by our allies and defend a rules-based international order.”
The New York Times reported that such a buildup of ships underscores the further erosion of Philippine control over disputed waters, which could become a problem for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to face. Critics say China’s disregard for Philippine sovereignty claims reflects a failure of Duterte’s efforts to curry favor with Beijing’s leadership.
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