Author Topic: Beijing’s Line on the South China Sea: “Nothing to See Here”  (Read 282 times)

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Beijing’s Line on the South China Sea: “Nothing to See Here”
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By Oriana Skylar Mastro
November 30, 2020
 
China’s official denials of growing military capability in the region look a lot like gaslighting.

China’s strategy in responding to concerns about its intentions in the South China Sea is to claim that none of the activities, statements or behaviours that concern other countries are actually happening.

China claims it has not militarised the South China Sea, but that the United States “is the real pusher of militarisation” in these waters. Its leaders often argue that China is a peace-loving country only interested in defending itself. As the China’s General Wei Fenghe stated at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018, “China has never provoked a war or conflict, nor has it ever invaded another country or taken an inch of land from others. In the future, no matter how strong it becomes, China shall never threaten anyone.”

China has similarly brushed off concerns of other claimants, such as Vietnam, about its intensifying military exercises in the South China Sea and largely ignored Australia’s assertion at the United Nations that China’s claims have no legal backing.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/11/30/beijings_line_on_the_south_china_sea_nothing_to_see_here_651344.html