The US officially rejected nearly all of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea on Monday in a major escalation that is sure to enrage Beijing and inflame the region.
“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on the matter. Pompeo went on to list specific claims the US is rejecting in waters close to the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Indonesia.
Before this announcement, the previous US policy was to insist that maritime disputes between China and its neighbors be resolved peacefully through UN arbitration. But since 2015, the US has sailed warships near disputed archipelagos in the South China Sea in what it calls “Freedom of Navigation Operations,” a clear provocation towards Beijing that has done nothing but ratchet up tensions in the region.
Pompeo argues China’s claims are “unlawful” and cited a 2016 ruling made by an international tribunal in the Hague that took the Philippines’ side in a territorial dispute with Beijing. The smaller countries in the region all have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, and the US has not taken the side of a particular nation, as Washington’s aim is solely to counter China.
It is not clear how the US plans to counter China’s maritime claims, but there has been an increased US military presence in the region. The US Navy conducted massive military exercises in the South China Sea on July 4th. Hundreds of military planes and helicopters took off from two aircraft carriers in Washington’s largest drills in the region in years.
The US drills coincided with Chinese military exercises near the Paracel Islands, one of the disputed territories in the South China Sea. Beijing always denounces Washington’s presence in the regions. A spokesman from China’s foreign ministry recently called the US military the “fundamental cause of instability in the South China Sea.”
Next, a total collapse of the flimsy trade deal.
And at this point, this is the least of our problems. Our hastiness and ignorance will come back to bite. We have Ericsson coming to set up 5G production in US. Did we know that good part of Ericsson technology depends on Chinese components. Ericsson and Nokia both are involved in installing Huawei 5G in Europe. And hurting Taiwanese foundry by making them lose Huawei business, giving them a small consolation prize and telling them to set up factory in US. We currently have no chip production in US, only design. Hundreds of engineers have already left Taiwan to work on mainland. Many prefer it — language issue, closeness to home and fear of being accused of spying. Trump administration went too far, too fast. Not being in possession of facts.
US rejected China territorial claims? On what basis? US as NON-SIGNATORY of UN Laws of the Seas Convention (UNCLOS), has no right to even comment on the matter, and has no right to be a party to the legal proceedings in UNCLOS Arbitration Court.
First —overlapping claims have not been adjudicated YET. Under rules, each country must first engage in bilateral talks to narrow the disputed areas. Then they must go to UNCLOS arbitration, offering their proposed solutions. Courts may request independent experts to survey the claims, and ask for more data. Then the final negotiations start, with Court making proposed solution. This may take several rounds.
The Hague Arbitration Court US keeps in trotting out — HAD NO JURISDICTION. It was an opinion, as no arbitration is possible without both parties agreeing. Complete rubbish — and a stain in the Court to provide such opinion.
The countries in question have all overlapping claims after Exclusive Economic Zone was introduced. This is true all around the world.
The real issue here is — threatening China militarily in order to create problems for China shipping.
Here is my opinion on this. Trump and advisors have made a ness, a shambles in managing China-US trade. The mess was compounded by astoundingly poor knowledge of Chinese technological advances — not only in 5G. The shock of the discovery resulted in poor political choices — COVID speculation, ratcheting up hasty prohibitions on selling semiconductors — hurting American companies— just ti find out that Huawei has its own designed chips. And in fury — hurting Taiwanese foundry producing them as they — gasp — are using equipment purchased from US. This has infuriated both Japan and Korea — as supply chains of component origin in manufacturing were never considered to that level. What is next — an American screw? They got the message loyd and clear. Japan is gearing up its Japanese only manufacturing equipment, Korea will likely cut a deal with China on the market share of handsets. And having exhausted — and frankly lost the electorate on the issue most do not understand — now it is down to the visible raw play.
We have gone too fast and too far with degrading relationship with China — on a hole that Europe will follow. Germany cannot afford such upheavals—its manufacturing depends on Chinese market. France, Denmark, Italy and Spain can ill afford to lose economic benefits. Australia will learn hard way. Only Boris Johnson will happily come along — economic loses are of no concern to him — Brexit people got their way — kind of — and will give him a pass.
Where are we going wit this? Any incident in that area can result in a deadly engagement with our forward naval assets in danger. Who will defend them? Vietnam? We will not start a nuclear war over it . Hopefully.
No one is breaking out the nukes for this. We will threaten to engage them conventionally and they will back down. China’s major weakness is their Navy which is ill equipped to take us on and they know it. We were hoping India would start a ground war out west which would make it much easier to get those islands back to the rightful owners and get their particle board buildings off of them.
India start a ground war? That was a
good performance as Modi has much consolidation to do domestically and boost domestic production. Plus has COVID problems. China follows Russian strategy on Navy — they do not put into it more then necessary for logistics, they instead build weapons that destroy floating things. I hope NOBODY is surprised AGAIN and misjudge technology. Way back as Russian Poseidon Sub-drones were tested, there was news about China adopting it. I remember thinking — it makes sense, China has more need for it then Russia. This situation again sounds like we know it all making hasty decisions.
This is why I worry about nukes — as that is what happens when a hasty plan goes awry.
“US as NON-SIGNATORY of UN Laws of the Seas Convention (UNCLOS), has no right to even comment on the matter”
Everyone has the right to comment on anything, at any time, in any way they damn well please.
Whether their comments should be paid any heed is a different question.
The “tribunal in the Hague” is not recognized by the US nor by China. Its “judgment” was by default because China did not participate any more than the US could or would have in a “court” neither recognizes.
The US does not give any international courts power to judge it or its claims. Hence, the US is also outside the ICC.
This was an absurdity — almost as if someone paid the court to take it on. Because it is an ARBITRATION court, by the very nature of case had NO JURISDICTION over maritime disputes.
As an Arbitration court it could take on ONLY cases where parties agree to arbitration. Which was not the case here. And the opinion rendered by such court is invalid — and US knows it, and is knowingly lying by trotting it out. This is shameful. For people without shame, contempt by the world is sufficient. When US brought the opinion up in ASEAN conference, nobody wanted it mentioned in the closing statement — the very countries US is now “defending”.
We need to “woke” to the fact that the very countries we are pushing into conflict with China — are close to China. It does not pay to be resisting US pressure — when you can benefit from US urge to spend money. None of them will take any hostile action against China. For Duterte, fringe benefit of US leaving him alone to fight drug cartels, and not dragging him through media mud daily. For China, the benefit is flushing US out in the open confrontation — serious veiled threat of causing disruption to trade lanes from North-East Asia to Middle East and Europe.
But this threat to stability is equally dangerous to Japan and South Korea. Both view this aggression also aimed at them. In the case of conflict and trade blockage, they would be hostage — forced to pay Trump surcharge for their defense.
This hit Japan with force. For one, they scrapped US missile defense, Aegis Ashore, and announced a crash program for Japanese only components and tools for semiconductor production. Taiwanese experience with US was a wake up call. Both Korea and Japan are having large trade with China — not so much with US. And the simple math is — US cannot even in the long run create the demand and charge global economy. All growth will be in Asia. And US is aiming to become the toll booth and arbiter of Asian trade.
All this is leading impatient US into escalating , making them bend to our will. So, collectively, Asia is not putting out red flag to enrage the charging bull — but is getting individually and collectively ready for multiple options. Including Eurasian continental transit.
Korea and Japan are not feeling confident that US will prevail. This should encourage some thinking. Not likely in election year.
The Chinese claims are based on a map that the US expressly recognized and honored at the end of WW2 by turning over Japanese held islets and garrisons to China, rather than taking them itself on behalf of its still Territory the Philippines.
What changed is only the outcome of the Chinese Civil War. Chiang Kai-shek published that map first, and the US thought it was just fine for Mainland China then, when it was governed by Chiang Kai-shek.
Thank you, nice to hear decent data on occasion anymore…
Thank you
Yo, the Porcine One, it is the South CHINA Sea, not the Gulf of Mexico (er, the US)/