China’s new 10-dash map is causing outrage across the Indo-Pacific region:Vietnam, India, Philippines, Malaysia
SYDNEY: A wave of anger swept across the South China Sea and India this week over China’s release of a new official map, extending its illegal claims to most of the sea and adding additional claims.
New books along the Indian border.China’s latest hegemonic act comes in the form of what it calls a “new standard” map, published by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources on Aug.28.
The new map echoes the Tang claim 9 paragraphs of China and rejected by UN law.
waters, while also claiming new territories around Taiwan and northern India.
It comes days after President Xi Jinping said at the last BRIC summit that “hegemony is not in China’s DNA”Unsurprisingly, the biggest wave of outrage occurred in India, where China unilaterally claimed two new areas, angering India and Nepal.
But India is not alone.
“Most of the controversy seems to be that he claims Indian territory – Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin – as Chinese territory, but he also claims some Russian territory [Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island], as well as the entire South China Sea and Taiwan.
”, said Malcolm Davis, an expert on the Indo-Pacific at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.
“I believe there is also an opinion that the way the dash lines are drawn near Taiwan may indicate that China also considers Japan’s Ryukyu Islands as its territory.
China has previously claimed the territory of India, as well as the South China Sea and Taiwan, but the reaffirmation of its claims to Russian territory as well as the possibility of claiming Japanese territory is new.
” , Davis said in an email.
“The Indians have reacted with anger and officially protested China’s decision, and Japan will certainly demand clarification of China’s intentions.
I am not sure about Russia’s response because Moscow needs Beijing’s support in the war in Ukraine.
“As is often the case with sovereignty issues in the Indo-Pacific region, different experts have offered different views on what is really going on.
Asked if the new map includes new claims, Ian Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.says that “these claims are not new, although the timing is surprising.
“Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the Philippines and Vietnam have publicly announced the use of water cannons by Chinese ships to intercept their ships,” Chong continued.
“This may be because Vietnam and India have complied with the 2016 arbitral tribunal’s decision that there are no islands in the South China Sea, which broadly means that the areas occupied by Beijing cannot be claimed.wide claim.But it’s all just speculation.There is currently no official explanation.So why bring Russia in?
LOCAL REACTION
Local Reactions
The new map has caused a strong reaction in India, Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The new document was released a week before the G20 summit in India that Mr.
Xi is scheduled to attend, but media now say he will not attend.India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on Wednesday that India had raised “strong objections through diplomatic channels to the Chinese side regarding the so-called ‘standard map’ year”.
2023 China’s territorial claim to India”.
“We reject these claims because they are baseless.
Such moves by China only complicate the border issue.
” The Indian and Chinese militaries have repeatedly killed each other in border battles in two areas claimed by China, with the first fighting taking place in 1962.
“Malaysia does not recognize China’s 2023 standard map, which delineates portions of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak as belonging to China,” the foreign ministry said in a statement Aug.
A day later, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that it “rejected the 2023 version of China’s standard map..due to the inclusion of the nine-dash line (now the ten-dash line) which was intended to represent the border.
This latest attempt to legitimize China’s alleged sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine maritime features and areas has no basis under international law.especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The china’s foreign ministry
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing Aug. 30 that “China’s position on the South China Sea is consistent and clear. The competent authorities of China routinely publish standard maps of various types every year, which aims to make standard maps available to all sectors of society and raise public awareness of the standardized use of maps. We hope parties concerned can view it in an objective and rational light.” The day before, Wang responded to India’s protest in similar fashion, with a touch more condescension: “We hope relevant sides can stay objective and calm, and refrain from over-interpreting the issue.”
The language here bears an intriguing relationship to that used by the head of the Peoples Liberation Army at this year’s Shangri La Dialogues in Singapore. Gen. Li Shangfu told the world to “mind your own business” when asked why China’s military frequently engaged in dangerous and unprofessional behavior in the East and South China Seas when other nations militaries were in international waters.
This latest map puts the official stamp on China’s 10-Dash Line, an upgrade from the old 9-Dash Line. Of course, the UN tribunal ruled that the China’s earlier claims had no validity in international law and that China’s claims to the territories ascribed were unfounded in law or history.
Since then, China has destroyed some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs to build naval and air bases to try and cement its claims, fired water cannons at and lazed crew of small Philippine vessels trying to resupply troops on a reef within its Exclusive Economic Zone, threatened the USS Chung-Hoon as it and a Canadian ship, the HMCS Montreal made a rare joint transit of the Taiwan Strait, and performed a raft of other belligerent and sometimes dangerous maneuvers around other nations ship and US military aircraft — all of them operating in international domains.
Palau welcomes the US Coast Guard
In a notable moment, the Pacific island nation of Palau signed an agreement on August 23 with the US Coast Guard allowing red and white ships to move within its exclusive economic zone.on behalf of Palau without the presence of a Palau officer.
“This agreement helps Palau monitor our exclusive economic zone, protecting against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” said President Surangel Whipps in a press release.while also preventing uninvited vessels from engaging in suspicious activities in our waters.”
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Palau depends on the United States for defense, as do several other Pacific nations, which raises the question of whether the deal could become a model for some of the smaller Pacific nations.If so, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia “could be candidates,” said Mihai Sora of the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank there.
“But the nations of the Pacific, like all nations, are very sensitive to violations of their sovereignty, and it’s har d to imagine so many of them knocking on America’s door demanding a deal similar to this stadium,” added Sora.
“The US still has a lot of diplomatic work to do in its relations with the Pacific island nations before it can come up with such an idea.
»More fundamentally, would such patrols, which are clearly aimed at preventing China’s massive fishing fleet and coast guard from entering its exclusive economic zone, help reduce or increase increased tension in the region or not?
“The United States will say that increasing security assistance to a small island state like Palau will help strengthen the rules-based order and balance of power in the region.
But many leading figures in the Pacific countries argue the opposite: enhancing their region’s security actually increases the risk of conflict,” Sora said in an email.
“In this case, it appears that Palau explicitly requested this type of assistance from the United States.
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