Pirates and Chinese frontier expansion<\/p>\n
I would like to comment on the letter from Mr. Santo
\nDarmosumarto (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 3, 2000) titled Making sense
\nof Beijing's conduct in the S. China Sea, as it contains not only
\ninaccuracies but distorted facts.<\/p>\n
Mr. Santo has written and suggested that China is trying to
\nattain the state goal by turning a blind eye on illegal fishing
\nand piracy by Chinese citizens in military fatigues with the
\ncalculated intention of extending China's maritime jurisdiction
\nand through establishment of a reign of terror. He has also
\nsuggested that Chinese pirates are indirectly exerting Chinese
\ninfluence over the disputed territory. I would advise Mr. Santo
\nto read more newspapers.<\/p>\n
The Straits Times reported on Dec. 23, 1999 that China
\nsentenced 13 pirates to death and one of the co-ringleaders was
\nIndonesian. On Jan. 29, 2000, the Times reported the execution of
\nthe 13 pirates, including the Indonesian ring leader, ending
\ntheir \"reign of terror\" of murdering 23 Chinese crewmen. And on
\nJan. 29, 2000, in the Singaporean Straits Times, it was reported
\non page 3 that one of the three pirate attacks around the world
\nlast year took place in and around Indonesian waters. And there
\nwere 113 reported attacks in Indonesian waters according to the
\nIndonesian Maritime Bureau (IMB). The director of IMB, Mr.
\nPottengal Mukundan in London, has also praised China for its
\naction.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 3, the same day, Santo's letter was published, The
\nStraits Times also reported in its East Asia File that a Chinese
\ncourt jailed 14 Myanmar pirates for hijacking a Taiwanese cargo
\nship. Actually, China has been a victim of pirates since the
\nearly 1500s by the Japanese Wokou pirates.<\/p>\n
The silk route was opened not by military conquest or by force
\nbut by peaceful efforts. The great emperor, Han Wuti, sent the
\nlegendary Chinese emissary, Zhang Qian, in 138 B.C. with 100 men
\nto establish diplomatic relations and allies with the Central
\nAsian kingdom and its people in order to officially open the silk
\ntrade routes. Zhang Qian came back 13 years later with only one
\nother man after surviving two abductions, committed respectively
\nby the barbarian Xiongnu and the Tibetans.<\/p>\n
The frontier strategy being traced to the Qin Dynasty (221
\nB.C. to 208 B.C.), as stated by Santo, was also very much
\nmisleading. The Chinese frontier strategy from the Qin Dynasty
\ntill the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) built and reconnected the
\ngreat walls in its northern border to try to fend off invasions
\nand lootings by marauding nomadic barbarians. But China was never
\nsuccessful in containing such invasions by the great walls. Soon
\nafter Shi Wangti unified China, he ordered to build and connect
\nthe existing Great Wall to almost 2,200 km.<\/p>\n
Despite the great walls, China was always attacked and invaded
\nby nomadic barbarians, who were finally driven out of China not
\nby China, but by foreigners during the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty and
\nlater by the foreigners during the Manchurian Dynasty. A few
\nother previous kingdoms also successfully conquered the northern
\npart of China (Northern Wei in South and North dynasty period).
\nYuan Mongolian and Manchurian Ching conquered China completely,
\nbut they then adopted the conquered Chinese civilization. If the
\nconquerors adopted the conquered's civilization, we will have to
\nadmit the superiority of the Chinese civilization. And inherent
\nin Chinese civilization, is cultural pacifism and in it,
\nConfucian's thoughts, which despise military violence, and reward
\nand punishment as advocated by Han Fei Tzu legalists, which
\nplayed a big role.<\/p>\n
Civilian control over the military was also officially
\ninstituted a millennium ago since the Song Dynasty. And
\ntraditionally the military commanders tended to be Confucian
\nscholars who would write and recite poems in the battlefield. All
\nthese led to Chinese military deficiencies and weaknesses.
\nHowever, as JFK Fairbanks points out, that has also made China to
\nbe an indestructible political unit since the Song Dynasty.<\/p>\n
The Sun Tzu art of war is also no match for Machiavellism,
\nwhich is being studied in western and Indonesian Military schools
\nhere.<\/p>\n
SIA KA MOU<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pirates-and-chinese-frontier-expansion-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }