New Delhi: Even as world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, China appears undeterred as it ramped up its aggressive expansionism both in the South China Sea as well as the Indian Ocean Region, causing concern not only among its smaller neighbours but India and US as well.
China renamed 80 geographical features in the South China Sea — standard names for 25 islands and reefs and 55 undersea geographic entities in a move that has worried the region, signalling that China was establishing sovereignty over parts of the South China Sea covered by a 9-dash line that is deemed illegal according to international law.
The listed islands included Sanzhizai, an islet north of Yongxing Island in Sansha city, South China’s Hainan Province.
The pandemic, according to sources here monitoring these movements, has not stopped China from pursuing its longer term strategic goals in the region. Indian security officials said on condition of anonymity,
“We are one step away from it all but China’s double standards with regard to its aggressive posture towards its smaller and weaker neighbours and an insistence that other countries remain sensitive to its concerns (like Taiwan, Tibet, etc) is becoming more evident.”
This comes after Chinese ships rammed and sank a Vietnamese ship three days after Vietnam protested to the UN against China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. The Chinese action triggered protests from the Philippines to the US.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised “Chinese “bullying” activities in the South China Sea that distract from current efforts to deal with the pandemic.”
The Philippines, unusually, lodged two protests against China over violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.
Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi lodged a protest against China for sending its ships into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japan contends that Chinese ships have intruded into Japanese waters, including on one occasion filing through the area for about 90 minutes.
In response, a US warship has sailed through the Taiwan Straits for the second time in a month. Last week, US warships even sailed through disputed waters off Malaysia, to deter Chinese ships which have been intimidating a Malaysian oil vessel for weeks. This was in response to Chinese aircraft carrier moving near Taiwan.
