CHINA SECURITY: In Disputed Waters, China Is The Thief Who Yells ‘Stop Thief’

An island that China is building on the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea. The Chinese regime is accusing the United States of “hegemony” for challenging its land-grab in the South China Sea. (Cliff Owen/AP)

 

The U.S. Navy sent a destroyer on a “freedom of navigation” mission through the Paracel island chain in the South China Sea, and the Chinese regime claims it will toughen its response to similar missions in the future.

On Jan. 30, the USS Curtis Wilbur passed within 12 nautical miles of the less than one-square mile Triton Island, which is claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

What’s ironic is that the Chinese regime is calling the incident an act to establish U.S. hegemony, when in fact it was to counter Chinese hegemony already being claimed over the entire region.

China’s response plays perfectly into the ancient Chinese saying: “It’s the thief who yells ‘stop thief.’”

The Chinese regime began its operations to claim the East China Sea and South China Sea in November 2013. It started by claiming an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea that includes the Senkaku Islands, which are under Japanese control.

Other nations refused to recognize China’s ADIZ, and the Chinese regime tried setting a requirement that aircraft passing through would need to first report to Chinese authorities.

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The China didn’t end its operations there. It began pushing into the South China Sea and constructed man-made islands, which it then claimed as Chinese territory and began weaponizing.

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In October 2015, for example, the U.S. Navy sent its USS Lassen destroyer through the South China Sea. As part of its response, the Chinese regime’s propaganda channels sent more than 200 million users of the WeChat smartphone messaging app a message claiming the U.S. military “illegally” entered “China’s South Sea.”

China’s state-run news outlets and other official propaganda channels then broadly repeated the same message.

Its current response carries the same general approach, however. To defend its land-grab, the Chinese regime is trying to paint its neighboring countries as unreasonable, the United States as an aggressor, and itself as the victim.

Full article: CHINA SECURITY: In Disputed Waters, China Is The Thief Who Yells ‘Stop Thief’ (The Epoch Times)