When the world’s leaders meet this weekend in Hangzhou, China, for the 11th G-20 summit, the official topic of debate will be the international economy and global financial governance.
But while the subject may not be scheduled on the formal itinerary, one of the biggest issues that will be confronted during the meeting will have to do with the host country’s ongoing expansionism in the South and East China Seas.
Beijing has been engaged in a stealth invasion of the disputed waters over the last decade, and it has only accelerated its maritime spread since the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled unanimously last month to condemn its imperialistic ambitions by proclaiming that China has no “historically exercised exclusive control” over the region.
Defiantly ignoring the PCA’s ruling and summarily dismissing it as “ill-founded,” Chinese President Xi Jinping has proclaimed outright that his government has no intention of complying with the decision.
As China continues to flex its military muscles by conducting new air and sea exercises in the disputed area of the western Pacific, it has placed Beijing on a diplomatic — and sometimes militaristic — collision course with most of its neighbors.
Last month, Beijing upped the ante even more in its dangerous game of territorial chicken when it sent 230 armed fishing vessels and 13 coast guard ships into the waters surrounding the traditionally Japanese-occupied Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Although China had send ships into the region before, its territorial invasion had never been on such a large scale.
The fact that the majority of the vessels in the August aggression were technically civilian (although manned by government militiamen) allowed China to proceed with its maritime expansionism without provoking a military confrontation.
Veiled incursions into the South and East China Seas has become a standard mode of operation for Beijing, which has conducted similar intrusions into the waters of Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
And when subtle, pseudo-civilian incursions have not worked, China has not been shy to take military action.
In 2014, the Chinese government piled hundreds of tons of sand onto several delicate coral reefs to create artificial islands in the waters surrounding the Spratly Islands, just west of The Philippines, after Manila protested its expansive expropriation of those waters.
And just to drive its message home, China then proceeded to turn those manmade isles into airfields and seaports, protected by an intimidating display of military installations.
(This action, by the way, was the final straw that led to the PCA arbitration.)
China considers the contested waters to be a fundamental and critical part of its territorial integrity, and the area is believed to have untapped carbon reserves of about 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Additionally, about $4.5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes through the maritime region every year.
China’s creeping and imperious expansionism is a threat not only to its neighbors, but to the entire global community.
It violates the core tenets of international law and respect for territorial boundaries, and it positions Beijing as a regional bully.
Beijing’s furtive infringement into its Pacific waters may not be an official topic of discussion for the Hangzhou summit, but it definitely will be on the agenda of its neighbors.
Thérèse Margolis can be reached at [email protected]
