By Matthew Pennington
Associated Press
Deseret News
Associated Press
Deseret News
The city of Sansha is on an island in the disputed Paracel chain, which China now considers part of Hainan province.
The city of Sansha is on an island in the disputed Paracel chain, which China now considers part of Hainan province. (Str,Afp/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — China has heightened tensions in the South China Sea with its new, remote island city and planned military garrison in a contested area viewed as a potential flashpoint for conflict in the Asia-Pacific.
How might the United States respond?
Criticize Beijing too strongly and the Obama administration will strain its relationship with the emerging superpower. Let it pass and undermine two years of intense diplomacy that has promoted the U.S. standing among Southeast Asian nations that are intimidated by China’s rise.
A key plank of the administration’s engagement in the Asia-Pacific since 2010 has been its declaration of a U.S. national interest in the maintenance of peace and stability in the South China Sea, where China and five of its neighbors — most notably the Philippines and Vietnam — have competing territorial claims.
But tensions have only escalated. China’s raising of the flag this week at Sansha municipality, on tiny Yongxing island, 220 miles from its southernmost province of Hainan, come as claimants jockey for influence in the resource-rich region.
China will not be able to project much military power from such a small outpost, with a population of just 1,000 people and scarcely room for an airstrip, but it has symbolic importance. Beijing says the municipality will administer hundreds of thousands of square miles of water where it wants to strengthen its control over disputed, and potentially oil-rich, islands.
In Washington, lawmakers interested in Asia policy have been quick to respond.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the move provocative and said it reinforced worries that China would attempt to impose its territorial claims through intimidation and coercion. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said China’s attempt to assert control of disputed territories may be a violation of international law.
While the State Department was careful in its reaction, it also criticized China’s “unilateral moves.”
“I think there is a concern here, that they are beginning to take actions when we want to see all of these issues resolved at the table,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday.
President Barack Obama will not want to appear soft on China as he fights for re-election against Republican contender Mitt Romney. Romney has accused the incumbent of being weak on Beijing and has pledged to get tough, in particular, on China’s trading practices.
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