From deploying underwater drones in the Indian Ocean Region and sinking Vietnamese ship to renaming islands of South China Sea to make territorial claims, China has been muscling its way in the geopolitical sphere even as the world battles the China-born Coronavirus. Complete Coverage: Coroanvirus
Crux of the Matter
China Making Claims China made a sovereign claim on 80 islands in the South China Sea by renaming them. The disputed islands are the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands over which territorial claims are contested among China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. China had made territorial claims by renaming islands in the South China Sea in 1983 – it renamed 287 islands then.
Sino Strategy During Pandemic At a time when the whole world is struggling to beat the China-born Coronavirus, China is aggressively pushing its maritime strategies. Here is the list of known events that China carried out during the pandemic:
Late March: China deploys 12 underwater drones in the Indian Ocean Region.
Early April: Vietnam accuses China of ramming and sinking a Vietnamese boat with 8 fishermen onboard near the Paracel Islands. This happened after Vietnam protested China’s actions in the South China Sea in the UN.
Mid April: Japan says Chinese ships intruded in Japanese waters for about 90 minutes
Mid April: Chinese warships intimidated Malaysian oil vessels. US warships sailed to disputed Malaysian waters to deter away Chinese vessels.
Chinese bullying activities in the South China Sea are distractions from the current efforts to deal with the pandemic Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State
Implications for India Abhijit Singh, a former Naval officer, and now head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at Observer Research Foundation (ORF) says the following about China’s actions: “For three reasons, the crisis unfolding in the South China Sea has implications for India. 1) Chinese militia operations have focused on the region’s western end close to the Indian Ocean Region, targeting countries like Vietnam and Indonesia that India has a close political and military relationship with. 2) China’s expanding presence in littoral coincides with a rise in Chinese activity in the eastern Indian Ocean, particularly the presence of Chinese research and survey vessels in India’s EEZs. 3) The growing operations by China’s deep-sea mining vessels, fishing fleets, and intelligence ships in the Indian Ocean are an indication of Beijing’s expanding economic and strategic footprints in India’s natural sphere of influence. The bottom-line for Delhi is this: once China firms its grips over the South China Sea, it will use island outposts to project greater military power in the eastern Indian Ocean.”
Curiopedia
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean of around 3,500,000 square kilometers. Huge oil, gas, and natural reserves are believed to lie beneath its seabed.
The nine-dash line refers to the undefined, vaguely located, demarcation line used initially by the Republic of China (1912–1949) and subsequently the governments of the Republic of China (ROC, which governs Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), for their claims of the major part of the South China Sea. The claim encompasses the area of Chinese land reclamation known as the “Great Wall of Sand”.
In September 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No. 29, mandating that all government agencies use the name “West Philippine Sea” to refer to the parts of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The South China Sea is a major trade route for crude oil, and in 2016, more than 30% of global maritime crude oil trade, or about 15 million barrels per day (b/d), passed through the South China Sea. Somewhere between $3-4 trillion in trade each year is carried out through this trade route.
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