China’s “Illegal” Artificial Islands Spike South China Sea Tensions | From The Frontline

foreign [Music] there's a major flash point in Asia which has been brewing for decades it's about claiming and sometimes even forming new land about redrawing the borders of Nations all of which is happening at sea the east of the sea lies the mighty Pacific and to the South is the vital Indian Ocean yes we're talking about the South China Sea a water body that could be the Catalyst for future Wars [Music] the South China Sea covers more than 3 million square kilometers it's encircled by China Taiwan the Philippines Brunei Indonesia Vietnam Malaysia and Singapore it is estimated that the South China Sea has 12 billion battles worth of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas all of this is in the seabed the sea is home to some of the largest reefs and it's blessed with massive Fisheries there are hundreds of small islands in the South China Sea most of them are uninhabited because of the location of the South China Sea it has enormous trade and Military value and nations are vying for control of the sea China and Taiwan claim large parts of it the Philippines Vietnam Indonesia Malaysia also have overlapping Stakes most Nations follow the United Nations law of the Seas which says a nation's territorial Waters extend up to 200 nautical miles from the coast this area is called the exclusive economic zone or eez get exclusive rights for trade and resources that are in their eez in some ways it's their Sovereign territory foreign these exclusive economic zones are crucial and need resources found within 200 nautical miles of the nation automatically gives them exclusive rights over it and nations want more ee's ads under their control so that they can claim more oil and natural gas almost every nation in the South China Sea follows the U.N Charter to mark their eez except for one China China says it has historical claims to the South China Sea claims that date back to the 15th century and China marks this territory with an imprecise imaginary marking the nine-dash line China has always disregarded the U.N Charter of eez and claims the entire South China Sea Under the nine-dash line these claims also include Sovereign Waters of other nations and they regularly push back against China's expansionism we continue to to to assert our sovereignty we continue to um to assert our territorial rights in the face of all of these challenges and um consistent with the international law and uncle's especially so that is uh that has always been our standard that but we still have to keep uh we still have to keep communicating with the Chinese government with President XI with Beijing we still have to keep communicating with them because we need to really come to a conclusion there are three major points of conflict in the South China Sea the spratly islands the Paracel Islands and Scarborough Shoal the spratly islands are claimed by China the Philippines Malaysia and Vietnam these islands are located almost at the center of the South China Sea counting them under one's own territories would give Nations extended eez the Nations that are claiming the spratly islands have built small huts and infrastructure on them except for China China has added sand to several spratly islands and the reclaimed land has been turned into military bases in 2015 China built artificial islands with a total area of 3000 acres changing the complete Maritime claim around the spratly islands China has even constructed three air bases these are on the fiery cross mischief and subi Islands till now China has held off from deploying fighter jets to the spratly islands but that could change soon then there are the parasail Islands the paracels are located in the western region of the South China Sea they are close to Vietnam and are claimed by China and the two Nations regularly confront each other over the islands just like the spratly islands in the paracels China has built artificial Islands Beijing has an operational air base on Woody Island it constantly deploys its j-11 fighter jets to the airstrip Woody Island has almost 1 000 residents they are mostly Chinese soldiers foreign ly we come to the Scarborough show a territory that's located in the eastern part of the South China Sea both China and the Philippines lay claim to it the Scarborough Shoal is located inside the eez of the Philippines yet China claims it as its territory under the nine-dash line This has created friction between the two Nations Naval vessels of the two Nations have intense encounters the most recent was in August when a Chinese ship fired a water cannon at a Philippine ship relations between the two Nations have been bitter over the Scarborough Shoal the incidents are pushing China and the Philippines closer to war the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese militia vessels have no right whatsoever to place a blockade or impede or otherwise control the movement of the Philippines Coast Guard and Philippine Supply boats in a human soul or anywhere else in the west Philippine Sea thank you apart from reclaiming islands and redrawing Maritime borders China also tries to enforce an air border Beijing says it has established an air identification Zone over the South China Sea this means any aircraft that passes through the Zone needs Chinese permission China says that intention is not to militarize the islands but their actions contradict that this has raised tensions in the region prompting the U.S to increase its military presence American warships and aircraft routinely send patrols through the South China Sea they are often met with Chinese aggression firing lasers into the eyes of military personnel and Chinese Jets routinely harassing American planes are common incidents if that wasn't enough some Chinese ships have even tried to collide with American ships in the South China Sea China says it sees the U.S presence as a threat while the U.S says it's just adhering to U.N laws of the Open Seas I hereby want to point out that the U.S warships truly act aggressively themselves by frequently flexing muscles in the South China Sea we urge the U.S to respect China's territorial sovereignty and Maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea Nations that are being bullied by China are joining hands with the U.S the biggest example is the Philippines it routinely holds military exercises with America this year Manila also gave American troops access to four more bases U.S soldiers are now spread across nine bases in the Philippines five of them are in the north close to Scarborough Shoal additionally the Philippines is also arming itself it has placed an order for three batteries of the lethal cruise missile the brahmos the brahmos is a missile co-developed by India and Russia it has supersonic Cruise capabilities it can be launched from the sea and land the promos has an operational range of up to 400 kilometers and performs well in anti-shipping roles Vietnam 2 has skirmishes with China in the South China Sea earlier this year Vietnamese and Chinese military Boats were engaged in a standoff in the South China Sea the warships came almost within 10 meters of each other even eventually the Chinese ships were driven away to deter China from its aggressive behavior Vietnam is following in the footsteps of the Philippines Hanoi has gotten closer to Washington DC and now Vietnam is in talks with India to procure the brahmos missiles as well China sees the South China Sea as an integral part of its territory Beijing calls it an essential part of its history but the sea is important to other nations too that's why it's unlikely that this dispute will fade away China is propping up artificial Islands other nations are turning to the U.S as a reliable counter to China and America has stepped up its presence in the South China Sea Aussies it's no different the off-tempo might increase depending on what the demand is but so far for this deployment everything's been smooth sailing for us but China has an advantage of the US it's closer to all the disputed islands in the South China Sea Beijing can deploy more troops and weapons in the region overall China enjoys an advantage due to its proximity Beijing is calculated with its military bullying step by step it's claiming islands and pushing out other nations as the U.S gets involved further the situation in the South China Sea is going to get more complex For Better or Worse the U.S and its allies slam China for its aggressive actions in the South China Sea at the same time Beijing says it has historical rights to claim the sea as its territory China is militarizing these islands it clearly has no intention of cooling down tensions in the South China Sea

Channel: Firstpost

Views: 536,856

Keywords: firstpost, south china sea tensions, china artificial island, china illegal artificial island spike, china's south china tensions, south china tensions, illegal artificial island south china sea, illegal artificial island china, artificial island china, artificial island south china sea

Id: fafho4ypiuU

Length: 11min 17sec (677 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 01 2023