The South China Sea: Divided by Rhetoric?

Pieces like this are all too common in Chinese Media... http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91343/7103900.html

This People's Daily article is in response to the announced deployment (which later was cancelled) of the USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea after the Korean battleship sunk last Spring.  The article says amongst other things that, 'The American Nation [believes] its leadership in the world, which is bestowed by God, is undeniable.'  The same article describes 2010 Naval Operations Concept as 'Gun Boat Diplomacy' which is summed up nicely by this 'If you do not obey me, I will flex my muscles first. Then, if you do not behave better, I will teach you a lesson with my fists.'

The article goes on to say that the 'so-called projection of power is obviously for war rather than for peace.'  While American rhetoric toward China occasionally borders on incendiary (see my piece on currency), this is the Chinese state run media making a virtual accusation that America is seeking war. 

The Chinese military, the PLA, is somewhat more restrained, but still lately have said some worrying things about the relationship with America.  At the Int'l Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore General Ma XiaoTian said that while he favored more bilateral military cooperation with the U.S. "there are three main obstacles in the development of military relations: the first is the sales of arms to Taiwan, the second is the intense spy and patrol behaviours of US planes and ships in South China Sea and East China Sea, and the third is the "2000 National Defence Authorization Act," adopted by the United States Congress in 2000, as well as the "DeLay Amendment", adopted a year later. So we feel that, if anyone has been setting up barriers to cooperation, it is certainly not us.'

The issue of Taiwan is unfortunate, and in my opinion, intractable as both sides have entrenched on irreconcilable positions.  On the bright side, relationships between Taiwan and the mainland get better every year and there is a growing glimmer of hope that some form of reunification may solve this problem in the medium term. 

The issue of the South China Sea, though it has officially been claimed by China since 1992, has not until recently been seen as an important roadblock to cooperation.  As has been well publicized, China recently asserted that its claim to virtually all the South China Sea is now a 'core interest.'  This is basically a declaration that China's rather expansive UNLOS claims cannot be negotiated.  

Of course, That hasn't stopped the U.S. from trying to negotiate, Secretary Clinton recently told ASEAN that resolving these territorial disputes was a 'leading diplomatic priority'.  Reportedly, ASEAN foreign ministers are negotiating an agreement that calls for the disputes to be handled peacefully.  Let's hope that these efforts are successful, because these shipping lanes are the lifeline of commerce in the world's fastest growing economic region.

The issue of the 2000 Defense Act is a distraction, a minor (and idiotic) law barring 12 particular kinds of cooperation between the Chinese and U.S. militaries.  This rule should be eliminated immediately so that it can no longer be pointed to as an example of U.S. hypocrisy when calling for China to ingratiate itself into the international community.  I hate seeing things like that used in the Chinese media to stir public opinion against America. 

If General Ma is understood to be the moderate (and he is certainly moderate compared to the tone of the Chinese domestic media), then we should work to promote his priorities as much as we can without giving a window for more demands.  Offering even a small 'concession' on something like the Delay Amendment could be trumpeted in international circles as a good faith gesture, encouraging or even directly trading with China to make a concession of their own (something like pledging to follow the will of an international arbiter on the question of international law in the South China Sea).