China has long been accused of taking small steps to assert its control over areas where its claims to sovereignty under international law are unclear. Recently, China’s ships have carried out law enforcement activities farther from its mainland than ever before, mapped a highly sensitive seabed and conducted research inside a highly contested lagoon more than 500 miles from its shores.
China’s Expansionist Moves
Analysts say the latest moves are an attempt to advance its presence beyond an island chain seen by Beijing and Washington as a critical line of control in the western Pacific. The flurry of maritime maneuvers followed a visit to Beijing by US President Donald Trump that was full of bonhomie, but which Chinese leader Xi Jinping also used to make one thing very clear: the biggest issue that could derail US-China relations was Taiwan.
China’s state-run tabloid Global Times called the movement of the MSA ships a sovereignty declaration with both legal significance and political signaling. Much of that signaling will have been aimed at Taiwan and its 23 million people. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said the reasons behind the MSA mission were clear: Their real objective is to expand.
Implications for the Region
The analysts said recent talks between Japan and the Philippines over overlapping claims in their exclusive economic zones east of Taiwan may have been the impetus for the MSA mission east of Taiwan. China has taken advantage of multiple strategic windows and engaged in expansionist military and gray-zone activities in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
Foreign powers with interests in Taiwan are taking notice. China’s actions are deeply destabilizing, a US State Department spokesperson said regarding reports that Chinese Coast Guard vessels were harassing commercial ships. Britain, France and Germany, in a rare joint statement from their de facto embassies in Taipei, expressed concern over novel Chinese activity in the waters east of Taiwan.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
