The
USNS Impeccable on patrol in the South China Sea
earlier this
month. A clash between the Impeccable, a ship designed to detect
submarines, and Chinese naval vessels in the South China
Sea has
triggered the first diplomatic dust-up between the U.S.
and China
since President Obama took office. Beijing wants surveillance like
this to stop, considering it a violation of its sovereignty and
law.
Wen Wei Po, Hong Kong
U.S. 'Must Accept
Reality of China's Growing Strength'
Given the growing strength of the
Chinese military and the fact that the People's Republic of China is America's
largest creditor, is it time for the United States to curtail its military surveillance
in and around that nation? According to this editorial from Hong Kong's China-owned Wen Wei Po, Beijing
recommends in part:
"Washington
should size up the situation and learn from the Bush Administration's term in
office that the pursuit of hegemonism resulted in a
sharp decline in the strength and image of the United States. … The U.S. must
accept the reality of China's growing strength, adjust its hegemonic mentality
and seek common ground to realize the win-win possibilities. … As the saying
goes, 'The only way to be a good-neighbor is first to
be strong yourself.' The Obama government should adopt this perspective and
vision in order to lead America out of its crisis."
The Chinese characters on this U.S. campaign poster say, 'Forge Ahead.' Should Obama 'change' the nature of U.S.-China relations by ending American monitoring of Beijing's growing military power? With the United States deeply in debt to the People's Republic of China, standing on principle may prove difficult.
On Monday [Mar. 9] the United
States Department of Defense claimed that in the South China Sea, a Chinese
vessel in international waters monitoring a U.S. Naval vessel engaged in
"harassment." A Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday pointed out that
the U.S. account runs seriously contrary to the facts, confused black with
white, and is totally unacceptable to the Chinese side, and that China has made
solemn representations to Americans.
Warships of other countries
are allowed passage through China's exclusive economic zone as long as the are
not engaged in harmful activity, but must not be allowed to engage in operations
that violate China's sovereignty. The U.S. Navy ship Impeccable was
engaged in military surveillance that infringed on Chinese sovereignty within its
exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. This is a contravention of
relevant international and Chinese law, and amounts to a military
provocation.
It is only right
and proper to preserve the marine rights and interests of China - the United
States must immediately stop this activity. The current financial tsunami is
still raging, and the United States should strengthen cooperation with its
allies to overcome this crisis rather than stirring up trouble and creating
contradictions. Against this background, the U.S. Navy vessel's provocative
monitoring activities are unwise. Washington should size up the situation and
learn from the Bush Administration's term in office that the pursuit of hegemonism resulted in a sharp decline in the strength and
image of the United States. Giving up a unilateralist foreign policy to
maintain stable Sino-U.S. relations is most consistent
with the Obama Administration's goal of containing the economic recession.
The United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea requires signatory countries to impose
their own domestic law to demarcate and limit the use of their exclusive economic
zones. The Law of the
People's Republic of China on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental
Shelf stipulates that within these areas, China is authorized to take all necessary
measures to investigate and may exercise the right to hot pursuit. American
ships regularly engage in all types of military surveillance within China's
exclusive economic zone in the East and South China Sea, and incidents
regularly occur between Chinese and American vessels conducting reconnaissance
and anti-reconnaissance operations.
In April 2001, a
U.S. military surveillance plane in China's exclusive economic zone, while engaged
in a military intelligence-gathering mission, collided with a Chinese aircraft
and triggered a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Eight years have
passed and the attitude and activities of the United States remain unchanged,
as it continues to engage in activities that violate Chinese sovereignty within
China's exclusive economic zone. The United States must accept the reality of
China's growing strength, adjust its hegemonic mentality and seek common ground
to realize the win-win possibilities. Henry Kissinger once said of China and
the United States, "there is no fundamental conflict of interests - China
will become a great country and have a greater impact; we have to get used to
it." The Obama government should adopt this perspective and vision in
order to lead America out of its crisis.
China is a great maritime
country, with sovereignty over more than 300 million square kilometers [115,830,648
square miles] of sovereign maritime territory. But in China's seas, the United
States not only frequently engages in activities that violate China's
sovereignty, it also encourages and supports neighboring countries when they
invade and occupy Chinese marine territory. China is confronted with the
difficult task of maintaining its maritime rights and interests in accordance
with the law. As the saying goes, "The only way to be a good-neighbor is
first to be strong yourself."
DEFECTOR LI FENGZHI GIVES RARE LOOK INTO CHINESE SPYING
If China wants to safeguard its maritime
rights and interests, we must accelerate progress in building comprehensive
national power, achieve scientific and technological breakthroughs to modernize
our military, and quickly step up from being a major seafaring country to a great
marine power.
