After more than 200 unidentified Chinese vessels occupied the waters of Niuyu Reef in the Spratly Islands, prompting strong protests from the Philippines, 45 more Chinese vessels have gathered in the past week, 100 miles north of Niuyu Reef. U.S. think-tank experts even said that China’s tactics are “very sinister”.
In late March, after more than 200 Chinese vessels gathered near Niuyue Reef in the South China Sea, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine military was sending light fighter jets over disputed waters in the South China Sea, after the Philippines again asked the vessels to withdraw immediately. The disputed waters refer to the waters where WhitsunReef is located. Whitsun Reef is within Manila’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. The Philippine side has called the gathering of more than 200 Chinese vessels near Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea “a large threatening force presence”, arguing that they are piloted by maritime militias. The Chinese side stressed that there are no so-called “Chinese maritime militia boats” and that these are ordinary fishing boats sheltering from the wind.
The Central News Agency (CNA) reported that these Chinese boats are parked on rocky reefs in the South China Sea like “guests who won’t leave” and are increasing in number. Although China claims the boats are “fishing boats sheltering from storms,” they “don’t appear to be fishing,” with dozens of boats gathered neatly to escape “storms that never come.
According to the report, some of these Chinese boats have departed in the past week, according to U.S. satellite images, but a large number of boats remain stranded. Moreover, those boats that did leave only moved to another reef a few miles away.
And this same week, 45 more Chinese ships were clustered in the waters off the Philippines-controlled island of Nakai, 100 miles north of Ngau Yoke Reef.
Greg Poling, head of the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, was quoted as saying that China clearly believes that if it uses enough coercion and pressure over a long enough period of time, “it can squeeze the Southeast Asians out,” a “sinister” tactic. This is a “sinister” tactic.
The newspaper noted that China’s previous practice was to build artificial islands in the disputed waters of the South China Sea to assert sovereignty. But now the new strategy is to park a large number of fishing boats in the disputed waters, “effectively ignoring the expulsion orders of other countries”.
This report says that China is doing this to achieve goals that are impossible to achieve diplomatically or under international law. And to some extent, this approach “seems to be effective”.
China’s move reflects “growing confidence” under President Xi Jinping, the report said. They are testing the U.S. administration of Joe Biden and countries around the South China Sea, which are increasingly dependent on China’s economy and the supply of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine.
The newspaper noted that the matter highlights the further erosion of Philippine control over disputed waters by China. Philippine opponents say China’s disregard for the Philippines’ sovereignty claims reflects the failure of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s efforts to curry favor with Beijing.
In addition, such Chinese actions heighten regional tensions and threaten to make the South China Sea, like the Taiwan Strait, a point of growing confrontation between the United States and China.
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