Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) faces a dilemma on how to respond to a US vessel’s patrol close to two artifical islands built by China in the disputed South China Sea, National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations director Shuh-fan Ding (丁樹範) said.
The USS Lassen on Tuesday sailed within the 12 nautical mile (22.2km) territorial limit claimed by China around Subi Reef (Jhubi Reef, 渚碧礁) and Mischief Reef (Meiji Reef, 美濟礁) in the in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which Taiwan also claims.
Ding said China and the US would maintain their “fight without breaking” strategy, which he said entails the use of self-constraint to avoid further escalation of tensions while continuing to compete.
Ding said the US’ action is fully justified under the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea, which states that foreign vessels, both military and civilian, are allowed innocent passage through territorial waters.
By deploying a vessel within 12 nautical miles of the two reefs, the US means to “deny China’s claim of sovereignty over the waters,” Ding said, adding that Washington would accuse Beijing of violating international law if China makes any move to intercept a US vessel.
If Beijing fails to react strongly, it would imply Xi accepts the rule of international law, which would raise doubts about Xi’s foreign affairs policy among Chinese hawks, such as People’s Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan (羅援), who has said that China must deal severe blows to any foreign power acting against China’s national interests.
The rise in Chinese nationalism could spell trouble for China and the rest of the world, Ding said, adding that it would substantiate the “China threat thesis” if Chinese vessels were sent to confront — or collide with — a US ship.
The USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer based in Yokosuka, Japan, left the waters near the reefs without encountering any Chinese military action.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said the USS Lassen illegally entered the waters of China’s Spratly Islands, and Chinese authorities have “monitored, followed and warned” the vessel and lodged a protest against what he described as an “irresponsible US action.”
The South China Sea island chain — reportedly rich in natural resources — is the subject of competing claims by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS