2/08/2021

South China Sea - Who is aggressive/expansionist, who bullies who? A historical perspective

 The 'friendly' Americans just announced that they are creating a First Fleet to patrol and control the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. If you are thinking that they are aggressive and expansionist, you are wrong. The Asean states or American cronies would also say you are wrong.  The Americans are here to protect them. 

It is the Chinese that are aggressive and expansionist to claim the islands in the South China Sea. What about the Americans and Canadians claiming the continent of North America. the white Australians claiming the continent of Australia, the white New Zealanders claiming the two islands of New Zealand? Not expansionists, they have the rights to claim these continents and big islands, because the white Gods said so. That is white men's law, supernatural law, cannot be questioned. Is that what you are thinking?

What about the Asean states claiming the South China Sea islands, are they also aggressive and expansionists? 

Let's take a historical perspective of the claims of the South China Sea islands, who claimed first and who has more rights to these islands. For ease of understanding, let's divide the time frame into 4 periods, firstly before Colonialism, Colonialism, post Colonialism and post 1982, UNCLOS, United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

Pre Colonialism

Before the European colonialists invaded and colonised South East Asia, China was already an established state, an Empire ruled by various dynasties. Ownership of land, islands during this era were usually decided by conquest and occupation. What was the status of the land in the SE Asia region? Were they owned by nation states or kingdoms? Nation states they were not, a few kingdoms existed and many were undefined islands populated by tribes. There was no Indonesia as a country, or the Philippines or Malaysia or Malaya to talk about.

The islands in the South China Sea, including those in the East China Sea like the Ryukyu chains and Diaoyu Islands were visited and discovered by the Chinese dynasties and marked as part of the Chinese empires. All the islands were clearly marked and recorded especially during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th/17 Centuries. There cannot be any dispute and the non countries of SE Asia were in no position to claim these islands as theirs, and in most cases they did not even know that these islands existed.

Colonialism in SE Asia

Then came Colonialism when the European powers invaded and seized the land and islands in SE Asia as their colonies. They regarded the natives as sub humans, no right to their land. Practically all the present nation states of SE Asia were seized by the European empires. So the natives could not be making claims on South China Sea islands and ownership of these islands. In reality, these islands still belonged to the Chinese Empire, the Qing Dynasty, as the European powers did not claim them.

In 1929, China drew up the map to include the islands in the South China Sea defined by the 9 dash lines.  There was the claim of ownership on the principle of nullus soli, no man's land. This is different from the colonialists that came and claimed lands and islands even if they were occupied, like the British claiming to have found Singapore, Penang, Malaya etc etc disregarding the presence of natives. So too were Columbus claiming America ignoring the ownership by native Americans.

Post WW2

During the wars, in 1895, Japanese seized the Ryukyu Island chain and Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan as war booty from China. Japan also occupied many of the islands in the South China Sea during their invasion of Asia and SE Asia. After WW2, then Japan was to return all the islands seized from China, islands in the East China Sea and South China Sea. For political reasons and administrative convenience, the Americans retained administrative control of the Ryukyu Islands and Diaoyu Islands. The rest, including Taiwan and South China Sea Island were returned to China.

The nation states of SE Asia came into existence when given independence from the colonial powers. But the islands in the South China Sea were not an issue, and they did not claim them as theirs. they had too big a plate to handle and were busily setting up their own govts.

1982 UNCLOS

The claims of Asean states on the South China Sea islands were mainly based on the provisions of UNCLOS. But when China signed the agreement, there was an exclusion clause that excluded claims on territorial rights and integrity, ie, no change in ownership of islands.

So, how much weight is there for Asean states to claim islands that were long claimed by China? Even in 1929 when the 9 dash lines were drawn, the Asean states did not exist, they were colonies of European Empires. China had claimed these islands many centuries back. Is China the aggressive and expansionist country that is claiming islands belonging to Asean states, or Asean states are the aggressive and expansionist states claiming Chinese islands as theirs under a new UNCLOS law?

The evil and treacherous Americans and western countries kept mum about the return of these islands to China in the post war agreement in Potsdam in 1945 and Paris Agreement in 1948, and encouraging the Asean states to make claims against Chinese islands and accusing China of being aggressive, expansionist and bullying Asean states when it is the Asean states that are trying to bully China in their spurious claims based on a new law that exclude claims on territorial rights.

Who is the devil, who is aggressive and expansionist? Who is or are the bully/bullies?

Modern aggression

In the colonial days, it was the strong that bullied and took the land from the weak. It was natural for the strong to be aggressive. Today it is the reverse. The weak bullying the strong and seizing land from the strong. China only started to reclaim the islands in the South China Sea in 1988. In the 1970s, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia have already started to claim the South China Sea islands and reclaiming and filling up the islands. These weaker states have no regards to the bigger country China, and claimed Chinese islands as theirs, with UNCLOS and the Americans egging them on.

Many Chinese fishing vessels were arrested especially by the Philippines and demanded ransoms for the release of fishermen and their boats. They even attacked Chinese fishing boats, sank them to the bottom of the sea. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines even wanted to attack Chinese Coast Guards and Chinese Navy ships.

China had to be very patient with these very aggressive small states challenging her rights and seizing her fishing boats and islands.  This kind of madness has to be stopped and finally China lost her patience and put the little aggressive states in their proper place, or face being spanked. Some order has returned to the South China Sea, with the proper pecking order now in place, except for the trouble making Americans. Australia is now feeling the pain in the ass, grimacing but pretending it doesn't hurt.

Still China is smeared by the West as the aggressor, and the small aggressive states as the poor and innocent victims. If it were the evil American Empire instead of China, none of these little states would dare even to move an inch or open their big mouths.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Russia, China and North Korea are the bad guys, so they say.

Non so blind as those who refused to see. Non so deaf as those who refused to hear.

Who is creating all the conflicts, imposing all the sanctions, dispensing all the lies, propagating and inventing all the fake news, committing genocide against Natives and owners of the land they seized?

The Canadian Government and Church talk about reconciliation with the Natives, now that their dark secret is out, after decimating their numbers so they do not have any recourse to take back what they own. Reconciliation my foot. That is just an empty slogan to pacify the clueless.

And the USA Government refused to admit that Agent Orange caused all the birth defects in children born to parents of those infected by Agent Orange. Three million infected parents, and some who know about the effects of Agent Orange, are afraid to conceive for fear of having deformed children.

Now more than 150,000 Vietnamese children with deformed bodies are languishing in hospitals in Vietnam. Even food crops are unable to be grown in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. That is what the USA Government considered collateral damage and brushed aside as if nothing happens. Who is the good guy and what has he done?

Anonymous said...

US is currently conducting military exercises near Guam with China in mind. They are joined by Japan and Australia. Japan understandable since they have territorial claim with China. But Australia? Australia has no territorial dispute so only to play along as a faithful lapdog. On one hand, Australian leaders want to improve relations with China, but their action always proves otherwise. China is right to spurn all olive branches from Australia until they are genuine.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

In a way the Vietnamese love the Americans and deserved the charity from their kind Americans.

In the event of a war in the western Pacific Ocean, the first wave would be just missiles flying all over the sky with targets in Japan, South Korea and Guam being priority number one. Australia, with its American nuclear base would also be hit. All American nuclear bases would be hit in Asia as well.

Any Asean states want to volunteer to be cannon fodder.

Only after this wave would the next wave start to wipe out the leftovers and survivals from the missile attacks. The first wave would just be button pushing with no Chinese soldiers, pilots or naval officers in the front line. Yes, it would be like computer games.

Any American aircraft carriers or big ships in the region would be sunk for sure. The Americans cannot afford to fight such a war. Their aircraft carriers and Tomahawk cruise missiles would be out of range. Their B52s would not have a chance to get near to China coast to fire their nuclear missiles.

The Americans still thinking they could sail their aircraft carriers and naval ships freely in the South China Sea or East China Sea without being intercepted. This is asymmetrical warfare in China's terms.

Anonymous said...

All the blinds are in TRE. Just go there and see their stupidity.

Anonymous said...

Well, the Americans always uses spin to make people believe.

Just take COVID19 and the spinning by Trump. The USA will be safe, just one infected case, no hue. When infections rose Trump spin into second gear and still said it will go away, like the flu, or like magic. When it gets worse Trump went into third gear, promising vaccines using warp speed manufacturing and telling his people not to let the virus put them down.

At the end of his term, with out of control ballooning infections, Trump went into reverse gear. After the train wreck, all Trump's preoccupation was about the election, nothing more about COVID19. Well, COVID19 is already totally out of control, so why talk about it anyway.

Sometimes you must just let the USA spin out of control. Then there may be peace. It happens!

1984 George Orwell said...


Republican Rep. Ron Wright of Texas died weeks after contracting Covid-19 at a gathering in the White House, his office said Monday. He was 67.

Wright, who took office in 2019, died Sunday.

He had undergone treatment for lung cancer in 2018.

He and his wife, Susan, were hospitalized in Dallas for two weeks prior to the congressman’s death while fighting the disease.

The congressman, whose district included Arlington, announced he tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan. 21.

“As friends, family, and many of his constituents will know, Ron maintained his quick wit and optimism until the very end,” Wright’s office said.

"Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice.”

Wright is the first sitting member of Congress to die after contracting Covid.

Luke Letlow, a Louisiana Republican elected to the House in November, also died a month later from Covid-19 complications, just before he took office.

At least 71 representatives and senators have been diagnosed with Covid, according to GovTrack.

More than 27 million people nationwide have contracted the disease, and it has killed more than 463,000 Americans.

Texas will eventually hold a special election to choose Wright’s successor in Texas’ 6th District, which sits in Tarrant County outside of Dallas.

Wright’s death means Democrats now have an 11-seat advantage in the House. There are four vacancies in the 435-member House, including Letlow’s 5th District in Louisiana.

Wright’s final vote was against impeaching former President Donald Trump on a charge of provoking the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to the House clerk.

He also voted in support of objections to counting Pennsylvania and Arizona’s electoral votes last month.

God has decided that Ron Wright should not be voting any more.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Trump's senators and reps are falling one by one to Covid19...for not wanting to put on their masks.

Anonymous said...

On Sunday, a high-level Indian politician slapped his country's face by spilling the beans - he revealed that India has transgressed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) far more often than China did, but the Indian government has not announced it.

"Let me assure you, if China has transgressed 10 times, we must have done it at least 50 times.” V. K. Singh, an Indian Union Minister of State, also former Army General, accidentally told truth of China-India border situation. Singh sounded just like an aggressor admitting and bragging about his aggression.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

The tension in Pangor Lake region was due to the Indians crossing the LACs and raiding Chinese position on the ground that they thought the Chinese were going to do it. Read this very carefully, these liars said, 'they thought the Chinese were going to do it' not that the Chinese were going to do it or had done it.

On this flimsy pretext, they said they did it to pre empt the Chinese move. This is exact copy of evil American tactics. They accused you of wanting to act or do something, and that was good enough to attack you first, claiming defensive act. Actually they are the aggressors all the time.