Over the years, China has been aggressively grabbing territories belonging to its neighbouring countries like the Philippines and quite a few others in South East Asia. It has built airstrips and bases on islands and reefs which is not theirs but belonging to its Asian neighbours.
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic complaint with the United Nations under UNCLOS but China has continued with its unlawful reclamation using sheer might and strength.
Chinese warships have driven Filipino fishermen away from traditional Philippine fishing grounds, using water cannons. They have destroyed reefs and killed endangered marine animals in their illegal reclamation.
In a recent meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario asked his fellow ASEAN members to do something about it. China is “poised to consolidate de facto control of the South China Sea,” del Rosario told his counterparts. “ASEAN should assert its leadership, centrality and solidarity,” he said. “ASEAN must show the world that it has the resolve to act in the common interest.”
According to a report published in Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), “ASEAN showed that it was weak, divided, and unwilling to confront China. It issued a communiqué expressing concern that land reclamation “may undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea” yet it failed to name China as the culprit.
The SMH report added: “So ASEAN won’t even talk about the problem openly, much less act. Three of the ASEAN countries were reportedly keen to take a tougher line with China — the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia — but were overruled by the majority.”
The Foreign Minister of host country Malaysia Anifah Aman said: “We are not confrontational.”
It’s not really happening. . .
So far Australia seems to pretend that it is not happening. What with the lucrative trade and business relations that this country has with China. Australia has sent a measly 100 of its soldiers to participate in the US – Philippine war games currently happening in the West Philippine Sea versus the large American contingent sent by the US Armed Forces in the region.
It will take only one trigger-happy soldier from either side to start an armed conflict in the South China Sea. If war should break out in the disputed territories and hopefully, America will come to the aid of the Philippines — will Russia, another super power side with China? One thing is certain. Many lives will be lost. China knows that. It has the largest army in the world and is probably willing to sacrifice the lives of many of its soldiers.