Australian Polity, Volume 10 Number 1 & 2

Increasingly, the world is standing up to China’s aggressive,
intimidatory behaviour. Responding to the latest threats,
Peter Dutton said ‘we are not going to be bullied.’ China’s
propaganda claim to the China Sea, based on one old
dubious chart, is widely rejected. Indeed, the International
Court of Arbitration found that China had no historical
claim over the South China Sea. Notably, the CCP uses
de facto occupation to insist on de jure rights – except in
the case of Taiwan! Similarly, the claim to Taiwan, based
in Mao’s 1949 propaganda has little support.
“The PRC is engaged
currently in disputes
with 17 surrounding
nations.”
There are hundreds of Chinese militia vessels patrolling
disputed artificial reefs and islands in the South China
Sea such as a Spratly Islands. These so-called ‘fishing
vessels’ are deployed in ‘grey zone’ tactics against other
nations. Satellite imagery shows hundreds of vessels
anchored around disputed reefs and islands in the region.
Both the Spratly and the Paracel archipelagos have been
claimed by Vietnam since at least the 15th century when
the Nguyen Dynasty collected taxes on ships passing
through the islands. Vietnam has built modern facilities
on the Spratlys including schools for the children who
live there. In the 1890s the Chinese government refused
to pay compensation for a ship incident in the Paracels,
claiming it was not its territory.
The PRC is engaged currently in disputes with 17
surrounding nations. The maritime disputes involve
Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Brunei, and even North
Korea. It has land disputes with another seven nations:
India, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar and Tibet.
President Xi’s assertion to Mr Biden that China has never
taken one inch of land is preposterous.
This article was first published in the Spectator Australia.
26 Australian Polity