Despite incessantly
asserting it desires peace and does not want to complicate the situation, China
continues to blatantly doublespeak in attempts to change the status quo in
defiance of all.
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China's unjustified "ten-dash line"
map.
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Despite facing strong
opposition from the international community, China is persisting with its
intrigue to change the status quo in the East Sea.
According to international
public, China’s wrongdoings are totally unjustified and unacceptable as they
run counter to international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which China is a participating party.
The US Washington Post
recently ran an article, titled "Could the new map of China start a
war?". The author has clearly exposed China’s conspiracy through its
publication of a “10 dash-line” in an attempt to change the fact despite
objection from other regional countries. The article said that this map can
cause increased tensions in the region, where many countries together claim sea
sovereignty.
Two years ago, a map
published in new Chinese passports sparked a diplomatic firestorm with foreign
ministries in Vietnam and India both voicing protests and adopting
counter-measures.
“China's economic rise has
led to an increasing assertiveness in the region, with its
expanding navy worrying neighbors and challenging US dominance in the Pacific.
It has triggered an arms race in Asia, punctuated by a growing number of
dangerous incidents, including frequent maritime standoffs and
altercations with Vietnamese and Philippine vessels and risky fighter
jet flybys over Japanese ships.”, the article said.
The new map is an echo of
this provocative worldview. But Beijing officials have sought to play it
down. The goal is to serve the Chinese public.
US Ambassador Philip
Goldberg in the Philippines on June 27 also voiced support for the Philippines’
protest against China for publishing a new map which blatantly encircles most
of the East Sea in the scope of the so-called "sovereignty" of Beijing.
According to Goldberg,
fundamental elements on the “ten-nine dash” map remain the same as the
“nine-dash line” one, but it totally has no legal foundation in line with
international law. The US diplomat said that China's action has violated
the UNCLOS, noting that the efforts of a nation to infringe upon the rights to
legally use waters of another country should be considered a matter of concern.
He also underlined the need
to resolve disputes through international courts, comply with the Declaration
on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), conduct negotiations on the
Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) and negotiate directly with concerned
parties without threat.
Senior ASEAN officials at
their meeting in Hanoi on June 27 expressed deep concern about recent escalated
tensions in the East Sea.
Aung Lynn, Head of SOM
Myanmar said ASEAN is closely following the situation and expressed deep
concern about the recent developments in the East Sea.
ASEAN has a clear view
about the East Sea based on the ASEAN Foreign Ministers statement on the
grouping’s six-point principles, he added, while emphasizing the regional
grouping’s central role in dealing with challenges in the region.
Source:
VOV
