Rocking the Boat Won’t Mean Smooth Sailing for the US in the South China Sea

Published in Wen Wei Po
(Hong Kong) on 11 April 2015
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Nathan Hsu. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
During a visit to Jamaica, U.S. President Barack Obama claimed that China was throwing its weight around to bully its smaller neighbors over disputes in the South China Sea, adding that it should not elbow the Philippines or Vietnam aside simply because they lack China's size. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki has also suggested in the past that China's land reclamation project at Mischief Reef has intensified regional tensions. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday that China holds indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and the surrounding ocean, and that it needed no input from others as it carried out maintenance construction on the islands and reefs as needed and in accordance with the law.

The United States relies on having the most "size and muscle" of any nation to enforce its hegemony throughout the world, as it has done by rocking the boat in the South China Sea with an eye toward enlisting the aid of the Philippines and Vietnam in containing China. The Spratly Islands are Chinese territory, but Vietnam and the Philippines have each occupied several of the islands. As the United States continues to back the two nations in provoking China, Obama's words stand in stark contrast to reality. Just as the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman pointed out, a “certain nation” has stayed silent about several other nations' long-ongoing construction on the illegally-occupied Chinese Spratly Islands, but has complained at length about standard Chinese operations on Chinese territory, a clear double standard that is unfair and non-constructive.

China holds an abundant historical and legal basis supporting its sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and surrounding ocean. The Chinese government's resolve in maintaining its national sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, constant, and unwavering. As a responsible power, China's position on the South China Sea issue can be summarized in three constants: the first is the basic guiding principle of trying to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea; the second is an unchanging political aspiration of working toward the complete and effective realization of the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea;" and the third is a steadfast policy directive of peacefully resolving disputes with those nations directly involved through amicable negotiation. This demonstrates China's sincerity on the South China Sea issue, as well as the constancy and sustainability of China's South China Sea policy.

In the past, the South China Sea was generally stable, with China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pursuing a dual-track approach to managing disputes and making considerable progress in talks for the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea." Then, the United States burst onto the scene with no other intent than to muddy the waters and maintain its position of leadership in Asia and the Pacific through interference and manipulation of the dispute. And as long as the United States continues to interfere, the South China Sea will not see peace; more U.S. intervention will only complicate matters. Any strategy to collaborate to check China in the South China Sea will severely degrade China's regional security environment and have a significant impact on East Asian peace and stability.

But whatever those seeking to contain it may do, China will always have the resolve and capability to build peace, friendship and cooperation in the South China Sea with the help of ASEAN states. The United States will find that rocking the boat and encouraging divisiveness in the region for its own selfish interests will not easily accomplish its purposes.


美國總統奧巴馬日前在牙買加訪問期間,聲稱中國在南海問題上以大欺小,菲律賓或越南不能因為不及中國龐大而被擠壓。美國國務院發言人拉特基早前也聲稱中國在美濟礁加快填海工程,加劇地區緊張。中國外交部發言人華春瑩昨日指出,中國對南沙群島及其附近海域擁有無可爭辯的主權,中方在南海島礁進行維護建設,做法合情合法,無須他人說三道四。

美國倚仗在世界上擁有最大「塊頭和肌肉」,到處推行霸權主義,更在南海問題上興風作浪,企圖拉攏菲越遏制中國。南沙群島是中國領土,但越南、菲律賓分別侵佔其中不少島礁,事實真相是美國支持菲越挑釁中國,奧巴馬的說法顛倒黑白。正如中國外交部發言人批評,某些國家對個別國家長期以來在非法侵佔的中國南沙島礁上大興土木的行為不聲不響,卻對中方在自己領土上的正常活動說三道四,這完全是在搞雙重標準,不公平,不具建設性。

中國對南沙群島及其附近海域的主權擁有充分的歷史和法理依據。中國政府維護國家主權和領土完整的決心是明確、堅定、一貫的。作為負責任的大國,中方在南海問題上的立場可以歸納為三個「不變」:一是致力於維護南海和平穩定的基本方向不變,二是致力於全面有效落實《南海各方行為宣言》的政治意願不變,三是致力於同直接當事國通過友好協商談判和平解決有關爭議的政策主張不變。這顯示了中方在南海問題上的誠意,也表明中國的南海政策具有穩定性和延續性。 

當前南海局勢總體是穩定的,中國與東盟國家正沿覑「雙軌」思路處理南海爭議,「南海行為準則」磋商也在加緊推進。美國在這個時候高調介入南海問題,無非是想把南海的水攪渾,企圖通過介入和操弄南海爭議維護美國在亞太的主導權。只要美國摻和,南海就不太平;美國介入越深,形勢就越複雜。在南海問題上,任何合謀的對華遏制戰略,都只會嚴重惡化中國的地緣安全環境,嚴重影響東亞地區的和平與穩定。

但是,無論圍堵對抗者如何作為,中國都有決心、有能力與東盟國家通過互利合作,把南海建設成和平之海、友誼之海和合作之海。美國為一己私利在這一地區興風作浪,挑動是非,是難以得逞的。
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