‘Minor incident can spark war in the South China Sea’

The tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last week ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear merits of the case filed by the Philippine government against China.

Despite its agreement with Beijing to resolve their disputes in South China Sea via bilateral talks, which could be testified by several joint statements and declarations, Manila readily reneges on its promises and takes every chance to make waves in the South China Sea. US ally the Philippines welcomed the move as a way of helping maintain “a balance of power”.

Notably, both China and Philippines consented to the setting up of the tribunal which came into place based on the provision of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Chinese government has boycotted the entire proceedings and disputed the court’s jurisdiction over the case as well as its ruling. Canberra must be alert to the damage that could be done to our alliance relationship if we are seen to have prioritised naval diplomacy with China over a clearly missed operational opportunity – presented by the frigates’ presence in the South China Sea – to show solidarity with the US.

“It is in essence not an effort to settle disputes but an attempt to negate China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea”, the ministry added.

Beijing insists it has sovereign rights to almost all of the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which about a third of all the world’s traded oil passes.

China summoned the American ambassador to protest the U.S. Navy’s sailing of a warship close to one of China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea, in an act that challenged Chinese sovereignty claims.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said the court ruling is null and void.

China has issued its strongest warning yet to the USA over an incident during which a U.S. destroyer sailed within territorial waters of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea, claiming that United States faces running the risk of “a minor incident that sparks war”.

On October 27, the United States sailed a guided missile destroyer within the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters of facilities occupied by Chinese forces.

Admiral Scott Swift, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, is also reported to visiting China shortly.

It was not aimed at any one particular country and the “US takes no position in competing sovereignty claims”, he said.

European and Asian foreign affairs ministers gather in Luxembourg next week for ASEM, a regular event that brings together all 28 EU countries and 21 Asian nations, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

With an ongoing tussle between China and Japan to the north and the conundrum of North Korea, this points to continuing tension in a region which is vital for global economic growth.

“The attention to disputed claims in the South China Sea, the prominence of those disputes, is having the effect of causing many countries in the region to want to intensify their security cooperation with the United States”, said Carter.