In a further escalation of tension in Cold War 2.0, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Beijing to cease what he called “provocative behavior” in the contested South China Sea. The statement on Tuesday came exactly six years after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled that the Chinese have no legal basis to claim “historical rights” over most of the region.
Blinken took advantage of the date to reinforce the American presence in Asia. He reiterated that Washington will defend the Philippines if the country is attacked by Chinese forces — in May, the Manila government accused Beijing of blocking the operation of two patrol vessels by its Coast Guard and promised a response to the increase in Chinese military presence in the region. considered strategic.
“We reaffirm that an armed attack on the Philippine armed forces would invoke US mutual defense commitments,” Blinken wrote in a statement, referring to a treaty signed between the countries in 1951. “We again call on the People’s Republic of China to fulfill its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior,” he added.
The day before, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said countries should avoid being used as “chess pieces” by global powers in a region he said risks being reshaped by geopolitical factors. In a speech to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, the chancellor also said that Asian nations are under pressure to take sides. “The future of our region must be in our hands,” he said.
Beijing’s firm stance at the meeting followed the increase in military exercises in recent months in the South China Sea, a strategic region for world trade and made up of more than 250 islets, reefs and small landmasses. Through it, 80% of the oil and gas pass to China.
The actions sounded like a challenge from Beijing to Washington, which took on a new dimension last month when China launched Fujian, its first super aircraft carrier, into the sea. Strategically, the Chinese government’s priority is to dominate its immediate strategic surroundings, which also include the Taiwan Strait.
But the increase in tension in recent days has clashed with the friendly tone that marked the five-hour meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Both said that the first personal conversations since October between the countries’ diplomats were “sincere”.
Wang said he told Blinken that both sides should discuss establishing rules for positive interactions and jointly champion regionalism in the Asia-Pacific. “The core elements are supporting ASEAN’s centrality, upholding the existing regional corporate structure, respecting each other’s legitimate rights and interests in Asia-Pacific, rather than trying to antagonize or contain the other side,” the Chinese foreign minister said after the meeting. date.
Beijing claims the South China Sea as its territory based on what it says are historical maps, which puts the Chinese government at odds with some ASEAN countries that refute the claims because they would be inconsistent with international law.
Shortly after the international court’s decision in 2016, China announced that it would not recognize the legitimacy of the sentence. At the time, Americans already feared an escalation of Chinese expansion in the region, which has intensified especially in recent months.
