China's hegemony<\/p>\n
On March 14, 1992, two weeks after China enacted its notorious
\nLaw on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, I wrote in The
\nJakarta Post expressing my amazement and disbelief in the law and
\nits explicit territorial claim over the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
I pointed out that the lack of substantive historical grounds,
\nand the remote location of the territories from the mainland of
\nChina, would surely make the claim both untenable and
\nunprecedented in modern history. Furthermore, the Chinese law not
\nonly ignored the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention
\n(which, however, only came into effect in November 1994) but
\nactually contravened the Convention's provision on the 200-mile
\nwide exclusive economic zone.<\/p>\n
What is perhaps most galling about this whole controversy is
\nthe equivocal and even confusing approach by China. At least five
\nfacts may be cited to support this view. First, China has never
\nofficially or formally shown to anybody a map showing the exact
\nextent of its claim.<\/p>\n
Second, China is prevaricating on the Law of the Sea
\nConvention, having signed it at first but not having it ratified,
\nso far. This law, of course, would help to substantiate the
\nsovereignty claims of the South East Asian countries, since the
\nlaw gives the exclusive rights to exploit the economic resources
\nwithin their respective 200-mile wide zones.<\/p>\n
Third, China shows its inconsistency by denying South East
\nAsian countries the use of the continental shelf concept to
\nsupport their claims, while China itself applies the same
\nprinciple in its long standing claim on the Japanese-held Senkaku
\nIslands in the East China Sea.<\/p>\n
Fourth, the Chinese government has recently stated, after
\nbeing persistently asked to disclose the exact limit of its
\nclaim, that China does not claim the whole of the South China Sea
\nbut only part of it, refusing, however, to specify which part. It
\nis not certain whether this is a sign that China is beginning to
\nbacktrack on its claim, or merely a part of it ambiguous tactic
\nto hide its true ambitions.<\/p>\n
Fifth, China has frequently maintained that bilateral talks
\nshould be held between China and each of the other claimants to
\ndiscuss the possibility of joint exploitation of the economic
\nresources of the area. But how could such bilateral talks produce
\nanything if one is not even sure if the area to be discussed is
\nlocated inside or outside the area claimed by China?<\/p>\n
The best solution, naturally, is for all the claimants to come
\ntogether for a multilateral discussion about their overlapping
\nclaims, using the Law of the Sea Convention, as well as any
\nsubstantive historical reason and the concept of continental
\nshelf and geographical proximity, as the guiding principle.<\/p>\n
If China should continue to refuse to take part in such talks,
\nthen it is time for South East Asian countries to start adopting
\na vigorous policy of containment and pressure to induce the
\nChinese to be more cooperative.<\/p>\n
At any rate, after China's sneak aggression last February, at
\nMischief Reef off the Philippine island of Palawan, where the
\nChinese unilaterally and arrogantly laid down many boundary
\nmarkers, ASEAN countries should learn the lesson and never again
\nlet themselves be deluded into appeasement, or be taken by
\nsurprise.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, even though it is a non-claimant in the dispute,
\nshould commence resettlement of transmigrants on the vulnerable
\nNatuna island and at the same time significantly increase its
\ndefense capabilities there.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, it would appear that the end of the Cold War
\nand the exigencies of economic development of China have given a
\nfresh impetus to its historically established, but recently
\ndormant, expansionism.<\/p>\n
Although China, in regional terms, may not constitute a
\nmilitary threat at the present time, the situation could well be
\ndifferent in 10 or 20 years, when its economy has grown
\nconsiderably stronger and its naval fleet capable of ocean going
\noperations.<\/p>\n
MASLI ARMAN<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinas-hegemony-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }