Washington: Beijing's programs in South China Sea "provocative and dangerous"
Beijing ( AsiaNews / Agencies) -
The United States has branded Beijing's new norms which impose limitations and
restrictions on the navigation of vessels and foreign vessels in disputed
waters of the South China Sea as "provocative and potentially dangerous".
For
Washington, they are likely to exacerbate already tense relations in the Asia-
Pacific region, particularly between China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The
government of Manila , through its diplomatic mission , has already asked Beijing
for further clarification, while analysts and international policy experts
point to the growing fear of an armed conflict in the region.
According
to a law passed in November last year by Hainan province , in the far south of
China, and in force since January 1, ships will have to ask for a " prior
permission" to transit. This
is an area that includes about two of the 3.5 million km2 forming the South
China Sea , a strategic area for both businesses as well as for the presence of
natural resources (oil and gas) in the subsurface.
In
addition to creating concern among governments in the area, these new norms are
likely to exacerbate the already tense relations between Beijing and Washington. The US in recent weeks had strongly
criticized the way the Chinese had created a zone of airspace control over the
East China Sea .
The
U.S. State Department says that the new rules on navigation have no concrete
justifications "under international law" and without any clear
legitimacy based on the law, the U.S. government calls on China to " avoid
those unilateral actions that might just increase the tension and undermine prospects
for a diplomatic and peaceful resolution of differences. "
Meanwhile,
the dispute has also involved the Vietnamese government, which claims the
territorial sovereignty of large portions of the Spratlys and Paracel islands .
"Any
foreign activities in these areas without the consent of the Vietnamese
government - said the Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi - are illegal
and have no legal basis". Vietnamese
fishermen, moreover, fear serious repercussions in their own business.
In
the East China Sea, China has also been involved in a dispute with Japan for sovereignty over the Senkaku/Diaoyu
Islands
and with the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal. Beijing's sovereignty claims in
the South China Sea include the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam,
Brunei, Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan. Almost uninhabited, the islands and
surrounding waters are rich in resources and raw materials. Hegemony in the sea
is strategically important for trade and the exploitation of seabed oil and
natural gas reserves, in an area where two thirds of world's shipping takes
place.
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