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A letter to the editor: Control over South China Sea
Korean Times 29 April 2008
Dear editor,
Earlier this year, the Chinese government put up a government agency in Hainan Island to administer the Paracel and Spratlys groups of islands.
Last month, the Chinese foreign minister insisted that Chinese ``sovereignty" over practically all of South China Sea is ``indisputable."
These actions should be a concern for all of Asia. Setting up an agency to run the Spratlys and the Paracels is provocative considering that the sovereignty issues over those groups of islands have not yet been resolved.
Contrary to Beijing's assertion, their claim over the area is not only disputed but dubious as well.
The so-called historical basis of their claim to all of South China Sea is practically more shallow than their claim of sovereignty over Tibet.
Clearly, the South China Sea has always been part of international waters and has never been under the control of the Chinese government.
We cannot let China gain control over all of South China Sea. It is in all of Asia's interest to keep the sea a part of international waters, especially since our emerging economies depend on its sea lanes.
Particularly, 70 percent of the oil export to the industrial economies of Japan and South Korea passes through these routes. If the Chinese claim over the sea is upheld, China can practically have all of us, from Seoul to Tokyo to Manila, in their control.
I think it is pertinent for both Seoul and Tokyo to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in countering hegemonic intentions of China over the South China Sea.
For starters, Tokyo and the ASEAN should ask the Philippines, Vietnam and China to covert the 2005 tripartite joint marine exploration of the Spratlys, which broke the solidarity of ASEAN claimants and practically gave the Chinese more room for maneuvers that could pave the way to the return of its ``grab and talk" policy in the Spratlys and the Paracels.
After this, Asian government should urge that the undertaking be made a multilateral one that would include the other claimants, Malaysia and Brunei, to make sure that ASEAN political solidarity remains intact.
ASEAN political solidarity has been, and will always be, the key to containing Chinese influence in this vital part of our region.
Jonelle John Domingo
Quezon City, Philippines
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This song was written by Truc Ho, an overseas Vietnamese song writer/producer and was performed in the Asia 58 Video to commemorate South Vietnamese naval officers who died in the Battle of Hoang Sa in 1974 (Paracel Islands) in which the Chinese navy invaded and seized the archipelago from Vietnam. The song was also written to support the movement of Vietnamese all over the world fighting to restore Vietnamese territorial integrity in the face of aggression from the Chinese government upon Vietnamese lands and waters.
Vietnam’s history has been intertwined with that of China for thousands of years. Wave after wave of Chinese invaders have controlled Vietnam for more than half of the last two millennia, and the influence on Vietnamese language and culture has been stronger than that of any other neighbouring country. The Vietnamese follow Mahayana Buddhism, and Confucianism continues to influence the education system. The Mon-Khmer roots of the Vietnamese language are all but drowned under the pressure of a massive number of Chinese loan words, the adoption of Chinese tonal pronunciation, and until the Latin writing system was adopted, Chinese characters.
The Cow Tongue: China's Claims in the Eastern Sea (South China Sea)
By Tony Le 10 May 2008
In 1947 the Chinese Nationalist Government issued a map on which 11 dotted lines circumscribed nearly all the Eastern Sea (South China Sea). This evolved into the 9-dotted line map in 1953. According to cartographic convention, this meant China claimed sovereignty over all the islands enclosed within those dotted lines.
Hong Kong, China — Over the past 20 years, China's military investment has grown faster than any other country. The bamboo curtain that formerly enveloped the country has become a copper curtain.
Furthermore, China has become more difficult to negotiate with than even the former Soviet Union. The tactic of deceiving one's opponent or competitor is deeply engrained in traditional Chinese culture, not only an aspect of communist morality. The ability to deceive one's opponent is evidence of cleverness, not something to feel guilty about, and is a traditional strategy in the Chinese art of war.
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In 1947 the Chinese Nationalist Government issued a map on which 11 dotted lines circumscribed nearly all the Eastern Sea (South China Sea). This evolved into the 9-dotted line map in 1953. According to cartographic convention, this meant China claimed sovereignty over all the islands enclosed within those dotted lines.