China’s Assertive Encroachments in South China Sea

The month of July 2019 witnessed China assertive postures undermining the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling (PCA verdict of July 2016) which dismissed China’s claims of sovereignty on the South China Sea islands. It has forcefully reiterated its illegal ‘sovereign’ jurisdiction on South China Sea and the adjoining areas. On July 19,Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang has asked China to end violations of Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and withdraw its survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 from Vietnam’s waters.  China has carefully undermined the UNCLOS and has sent its survey ship in Vietnamese EEZ. The purpose was to earmark and assert its ‘self-declared rights’ on the waters closer to the other claimants. Earlier, this month China Coast Guard ship Haijing 35111 threatened Vietnamese vessels by maneuvering dangerously. The Vietnamese supply ships were providing logistical support to Japanese-owned oil rig- the Hakuryu-5 which was leased to Russian oil company Rosneft. The location of the incident was 370 km off Vietnam’s southeast coast in exploration Block 06.1. Rosneft, has leased Japanese rig to explore oil and gas in Vanguard Bank. It is also involved in Block 05.3/11, and has been developing the Nam Con Son Pipeline project in Vietnam.

The recent activity of oil and gas exploration undertaken by Rosneft started on May 12, 2019.Addressing Chinese threats, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier stated that “As far as we know, the company has already made a statement that it works exactly in line with the obtained licenses”. A Russia jurist has also asked Vietnam to seek international support to protect its interests and rights in the South China Sea. In response to Kremlin statement, China’s foreign ministry admonished saying “any state, any organization, any company or individual cannot, without obtaining permission from Chinese authorities, carry out exploration activity in the maritime area under China’s sovereignty”. This is complete disregard for international law and norms governing international order at sea.

For China, Vietnam has always been a challenge because of its close ties with major powers such as the US, Russia, Japan and India. The group sail which was undertaken by India, Japan, Philippines and US in early May 2019 further increased the anxiety of China. During the group sail the four countries undertook activities such as underway replenishment, formation manoeuvering, and cross-deck flying. Tensions between China and Vietnam escalated when Haiyang Dizhi 8(Chinese survey ship) conducted a 12-day survey of waters escorted by the three Chinese coastguard vessels as China has tried to intimidate the international community, and the Vietnamese navy to accept its suzerainty in those waters. The incident has been deplored and criticized by the US National Security Adviser Michael Bolton. He said ‘China’s coercive behavior towards its Southeast Asian neighbors was counterproductive and threatened regional peace and stability’. US state department has called China’s recent incursions as “bullying behaviour”. Chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot L. Engel in a strong statement said, “I stand with Vietnam and our regional partners in condemning this aggression. The international community must continue to uphold the rules-based order and international law. I call on China to immediately withdraw any and all ships from the territorial waters of its neighbors, and to put an end to these illegal bullying tactics”.

Strategic experts have often referred to this strategy of China as the salami slicing approach but the recent encroachment and area access denial activity along with three months’ fisheries ban and using its naval ships to earmarked its self-proclaimed ‘sovereign’ maritime waters is dangerous for the freedom of navigation and the security of the maritime trade. This time China’s salami slicing has gone a step further and it is ‘Hammer and Tongs’ approach where hammer follows the tongs to meet its strategic objectives. The history of developments in South China Sea in the last decade has been dangerous and at times leading to minor skirmishes. This involves the stalking of the US ships in 2009 and China’s use of fishermen militia to meet its dual objectives of patrolling through civilian means and using force to impose its will. In 2011, Chinese patrol boats intruded 120km near the Vietnamese coast and snapped a submerged cable drawn by Binh Minh 02(the survey ship). Further, these assertive maneuvers have led to anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam in the past and also attacks on the Chinese manufacturing units. Earlier in 2019 China has used fishing boats militia to harass US ships in South China Sea.

From Vietnam’s perspective, the recent developments have aggravated tensions because of ASEAN’s inaction and US ambiguity about these islands. In the current context there are three possibilities which need to be undertaken by major dialogue partners such as India, the US, Japan and Korea along with Australia. Firstly, it should strengthen its dialogue with dialogue partners on specific issues of security to a certain extent, defining South China Sea as special case. Secondly, the non-traditional security issues have crippled ASEAN in terms of addressing core security issues and developing a politico –security community. Thirdly, ASEAN nations should recognize status quo related to the islands occupied by the claimants, and work towards unilaterally adopting the Code of Conduct in South China Sea.

The recent draft agreement on Code of Conduct (CoC) is irrelevant as China never takes any international or regional obligation in word and spirit. China, on its part, has enforced de facto sovereignty over Paracel Islands. The basic issue is the resources both energy and mineral resources in South China Sea, and given the fact that Blue economy is gaining traction the crisis might further aggravate. Chinese fishermen militia has been matched with Vietnamese fishing community are vying for the third richest fishing ground in the world. The problem so gets compounded with the inactivity of the multilateral organizations, confusion among the claimant states, and the possibility of China exploring the bilateral solution with countries such as Malaysia and Brunei.

The pertinent question which arises at this juncture is whether the international community and ASEAN would do anything to resolve the crisis or would wait for the Chinese diktats on the subject with occasional assurance of peace and tranquility in the strategic waters. The major players should undertake group sail on a regular basis and also surveillance sorties to create conditions and make China understand that any provocative measures would draw international attention and also global powers. As already countries such as France, UK and Canada have expressed concerns related to the developments in South China Sea. The other issue is whether these activities undertaken by China dilutes the provisions of Article 2(e)- ‘Renunciation of the threat or use of force’ of Treaty of Amity and Cooperation(TAC) which is a necessary prerequisite for engagement with ASEAN. China entered TAC with ASEAN in 2003.  If it is so then the discussion should be started in the ASEAN and its associated organizations. Any dialogue partner which violates the provisions should be removed from the organization.

For Vietnam it is imperative to look for possibilities to protect its interest in the EEZ and not only statements in Non-Aligned Movement but the issue must be raised at UN also. The questions are that whenever it comes to implementing the UNCLOS related to P-5 countries and the provisions thereof, the international community looks the other way. Vietnam also should seek attention of other dialogue partners and brief the envoys of the dialogue partners on this. Countries like India, Japan, the US and Australia would have to activate Quad to take   proactive and responsible approach. Otherwise not only freedom of navigation but also over flight would be hampered in a ‘hammer and tongs’ way. China must also not forget that coaxing and coercive maneuvers have at times forced smaller countries to engage and invite big players and lease those bases.

Prof. Pankaj Jha
Prof. Pankaj Jha
Pankaj Jha is faculty with Jindal School of International Affairs, O P Jindal Global University, Sonepat. He can be reached at pankajstrategic[at]gmail.com