By: Timothy Martin
Edited By: Emilia MacDonald
When China is mentioned in relation to the Pacific Islands, the first thing that comes to mind for many is Taiwan, and for good reason: China has been directing threatening acts towards the island by running military drills that simulate a full-scale attack. The majority of the media’s attention has been directed to this issue, but China is also embroiled in many maritime disputes with several other Asian nations in the hope of controlling the Pacific.
Throughout the 2010s, China has made consistent efforts to increase maritime territory in the South China Sea by constructing islands on top of reefs to increase territorial claims and place new military bases upon these islands. The area in which these bases have been built are called the Spratly and Paracel Island Chains and they have been claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. These new islands have been named the “Great Wall of Sand”. China claims that they are being built to help those living on the islands and offer support to passing ships, but this justification overlooks the clear strategic advantage of controlling a region through which more than half of the world’s shipping tonnage flows—over three times the traffic of the Suez Canal.
China’s claims in this area are illustrated by the infamous “nine-dash line’, which shows the country’s own maritime territory as extending towards Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, granting China control over the entire sea. Vietnam and China have now clashed over both island chains, resulting in the death of over a hundred soldiers. Furthermore, Chinese ships have been known to threaten and ram fishing boats from other nations that come into the area. Vietnam even banned the movie Barbie from theatres, due to the film featuring a map with the nine-dash line.
China’s push for maritime dominance is not just in the south. The country has been embroiled in a decades-long dispute with Japan over a group of uninhabited islands off the coast of Taiwan. The dispute is primarily founded upon the desired oil and gas reserves that are projected to surround the island. Surprisingly, China says that the islands belong to Taiwan but that comes with its own set of implications. Japan administers the islands and is now constantly chasing off Chinese ships that infringe upon its waters in a constant game of cat and mouse.
Until the late 19th century, the islands were largely uninhabited, serving as navigational waypoints with some small fishing businesses. Following World War II, the islands were occupied by the US. In 1969, the UN projected potential oil and gas reserves around the islands and in 1972 when control was reverted to Japan, China began to stake its own claim on the region. Until 2012, the islands were privately owned by a Japanese family and were then sold to the Japanese government, sparking anti-Japan riots across China. Recently, a Japanese broadcaster fired a staff member after they referred to the islands as Chinese territory during the station’s Chinese language broadcast, demonstrating how serious the territorial disputes are taken.
These stories are just a few examples of China attempting to extend their borders of influence and seeing how far they can go. Currently, the disputes are primarily made up of militaries posturing by sending in ships to the region, however, tensions are increasing and the threat toward Taiwan is likely to continue. When dealing with a power the size of China, delicacy is key especially if there is no resolution in sight.
References:
BBC. (2015, November 6). What’s behind China-Taiwan tensions? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34729538
BBC. (2015, April 1). China building ‘Great Wall of sand’ in South China Sea. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32126840
Borger, J., & Phillips, T. (2015, October 27). How China’s artificial islands led to tension in the South China Sea. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/27/tensions-and-territorial-claims-in-the-south-china-sea-the-guardian-briefing
Fackler, M. (2012, September 23). In Shark-Infested Waters, Resolve of two Giants is Tested. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/world/asia/islands-dispute-tests-resolve-of-china-and-japan.html
McCurry, J. (2024, August 21). Japan broadcaster apologises after disputed Senkaku Islands called ‘Chinese territory’ on air. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/21/nhk-japan-senkaku-islands-china-territory-apology-ntwnfb
Pike, J. (2011, November 7). South China Sea shipping lanes. GlobalSecurity.org. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/spratly-ship.htm
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Reuters, T. (2023, July 3). Vietnam bans Barbie movie over South China Sea map. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/vietnam-barbie-ban-1.6895724#:
Wei-Cheng Wang, V. (2014). Taiwan’s Policy toward the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Dispute and the Implications for the US. Maritime Asia, 19(2). https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/taiwans-policy-toward-the-diaoyu-senkaku-islands-dispute-and-the-implications-for-the-us/
Image Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander W. Riedel/Released, https://media.defense.gov/2015/Jul/24/2001263811/-1/-1/0/140720-F-ZZ060-073.JPG
