Asian “front”: what is behind Washington’s new accusations of Beijing over the South China Sea

The US State Department issued a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in which he announced the strengthening of Washington’s policy with respect to the South China Sea and described China’s claims to resources in this region as "illegal."

“Beijing is using intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of the coastal states of Southeast Asia in the South China Sea region, forcibly remove them from marine resources, assert unilateral dominance and replace international law with the principle of“ strong is always right, ”the statement said Pompeo.

The head of the Department of State also noted that in 2016, the Maritime Arbitration Court rejected China's maritime claims and sided with the Philippines.

Thus, according to Washington, Beijing has no legal basis for the areas of the South China Sea that have been recognized as part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

The United States rejects any claim by the Chinese side for waters beyond 12 nautical miles from the islands of the Spratly archipelago and will consider illegal attempts by the PRC to prevent states from engaging in fishing or natural resources in them, the statement signed by Pompeo said. 

“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire. America supports its allies and partners from Southeast Asia in protecting their sovereign rights to marine resources, which are determined by their rights and obligations in accordance with international law. We support the international community in protecting the freedom of the seas and respect for sovereignty, and also reject any attempt to establish the principle of “strong is always right,” whether in the South China Sea or the entire region, ”Pompeo said in a statement.

The US position has already been supported in Tokyo. At a press conference, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the statement by the head of the Department of State "testifies to the United States' unwavering commitment to peace and stability in the region in an increasingly difficult security environment."

According to Andrei Sidorov, Dean of the Moscow State University’s Faculty of World Politics, along with the recent US sanctions against China due to events in Hong Kong, the Department of State’s behavior can be regarded as widespread political pressure on Beijing.  

“Similar statements by the State Department, coupled with the intervention in China over Hong Kong in the form of sanctions, can be considered part of Washington’s general course to increase pressure on Beijing. China is an open wound for the United States, which the American side regularly sprinkles with salt. Washington considers itself one of the main defenders of the principle of freedom of the seas, respectively, Beijing, according to its logic, should not claim to dominate in this region, ”the expert noted. 

Subject of dispute

The Chinese Embassy in the United States condemned the Pompeo statement, calling its accusations “completely unjustified,” and in turn noted that with the help of such rhetoric Washington wants to create tension between Beijing and the states of Southeast Asia. At the same time, Chinese diplomats note that the United States is engaged in similar activities despite the fact that they themselves are not a party to the territorial dispute.

“The United States is not directly involved in these disputes. However, they continue to intervene in resolving the issue. Under the pretext of maintaining stability, they demonstrate strength, escalate tensions and provoke confrontation in the region, ”the Chinese diplomatic mission said in a statement.

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• © ZA Landers / Courtesy US Navy / Handout

The response of the Embassy of the KRC also indicates that Beijing’s position on the issue of the South China Sea has always been consistent and clearly expressed.

“China decisively defends its territorial sovereignty, as well as maritime rights and interests, and at the same time is committed to resolving disputes through negotiations and consultations with directly affected countries, resolving disagreements through rules and mechanisms and achieving mutually beneficial results through mutually beneficial cooperation,” statement.

Recall that the subject of the dispute between China and the ASEAN countries is the territorial affiliation of the South China Sea and the group of Paracel Islands located there (they are disputed by Taiwan, China and Vietnam), as well as the Spratly archipelago (China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Philippines).

These islands are distinguished by their proximity to important sea transport routes, and large hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered on their shelf.

In fact, the Paracel Islands since the 1970s have been under the control of China, and in 1992 its authorities adopted the "Law of the PRC on Territorial Waters and Adjacent Areas", which provides for the sovereignty of the Asian power over all islands of the South China Sea. Since 2013, China has been working to create artificial islands in the region.

The United States does not pretend to the islands located here, but actively supports ASEAN countries, which they consider to be their regional partners, and also send ships of the US Navy there, declaring their commitment to the principle of free navigation in this area.

As Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Research at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a conversation with RT, US intervention in this territorial dispute on the side of Chinese opponents threatens to turn the territorial dispute into a rather serious armed conflict.

“Pompeo’s statement is in line with American policy aimed at creating a sanitary cordon around China, a military-political alliance that isolates China,” the political scientist said.

The expert noted that Beijing is already making serious efforts to strengthen its position in the South China Sea.

“The matter is not only in the natural resources of the South China Sea, but also in that one of the main trade routes on the planet passes through it, which connects Japan and South Korea with the countries of the Indo-Pacific basin and the Near and Middle East. The fact that Beijing controls traffic flows does not like the United States and its military-political allies in the region, ”said Vladimir Batyuk.

According to the director of the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexei Maslov, the United States is obviously creating an “anti-Chinese front” in the region.

“The most important thing is that this territorial dispute has historical roots and it is impossible and wrong to resolve it with the help of the Washington administration. Now the United States is trying to unite countries that have a territorial conflict with China. At the same time, despite the conflict, China is the largest investor in these countries, ”the political scientist said.

Alexei Maslov noted that China now has a rather strong position on the issue of ownership of these islands, and he does not consider this position to be negotiated.

“The problem is that half of the oil transportation to China passes near these islands, and he wants to have control over them. In addition, China believes that these islands are key to protecting the southern territories of China, so any concession means a decrease in defense capability, ”the expert emphasized.

Voltage point

US ships regularly pass by disputed islands as part of operations to maintain freedom of navigation. China criticizes such actions, considering them an encroachment on its sovereignty.

So, in January 2019, Beijing officially protested Washington because the destroyer McCampbell entered the waters of the disputed islands without permission from the Chinese side. Then, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang urged the United States to stop further provocative actions and added that China reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its security and sovereignty.

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Despite China’s protests, the US continues to carry out so-called “freedom of navigation” operations, in which US naval ships enter disputed waters. So, the destroyer McCampbell repeated a call to the waters of the islands at the end of March this year.

In early July, the Pentagon sent USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz aircraft carriers to the South China Sea while the Chinese armed forces were conducting exercises there.

Rear Admiral George M. Wyckoff, the commander of the strike squadron, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, noted that this step would send US allies in the region an “unequivocal signal of the seriousness of our intentions regarding security and stability.”

In the United States, politicians often express the view that the escalation between the United States and China in the South China Sea can develop into a full-fledged conflict. So, after sending two aircraft carriers to the region, such a statement was made by the main republican in the subcommittee on Asia in the committee of the house of representatives on foreign affairs, Congressman Ted Yoho.

“I would suggest that a collision will occur in the next three to six months,” the politician said in an interview with Washington Examiner.

Territorial disputes over the delimitation of maritime spaces are quite difficult to resolve, since it is not easy to reach a compromise acceptable to all parties, Vladimir Batyuk noted in an interview with RT.

“The United States and other countries have been developing scenarios for a possible armed conflict. However, the calculation showed that the American side in a possible conflict will suffer the same losses as during the Second World War in the Pacific, so now Washington is trying to stretch the military-political system of alliances from Japan to India, which should isolate China, ”the political scientist explained. .

In turn, Alexei Maslov, in an interview with RT, noted that China does not want any expressed conflict and says that any conflicts should be resolved through diplomatic means.

“But just the USA wants at least one shot to sound in this water area, and then it will be possible to apply completely different measures. I think that the situation has no positive solution in the coming years. The only thing the PRC can count on is that it is only part of the preparations for an economic deal with the PRC. Then everything will be decided by economic agreements. If this is still a multi-level attack on the position of China in the outside world, then it will last quite a long time, ”the expert concluded.