With Swarms of Ships, Beijing Tightens Its Grip on South China Sea

[TexasTowelie]

The Chinese ships settled in like unwanted guests who wouldn’t leave.

As the days passed, more appeared. They were simply fishing boats, China said, though they did not appear to be fishing. Dozens even lashed themselves together in neat rows, seeking shelter, it was claimed, from storms that never came.

Not long ago, China asserted its claims on the South China Sea by building and fortifying artificial islands in waters also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Its strategy now is to reinforce those outposts by swarming the disputed waters with vessels, effectively defying the other countries to expel them.

The goal is to accomplish by overwhelming presence what it has been unable to do through diplomacy or international law. And to an extent, it appears to be working.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/world/asia/swarms-ships-south-china-sea.html

[taxi]

1. The Spratly Islands are a delicate subject.

https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/chinas-maritime-militia-at-whitsun-reef-trouble-in-the-south-china-sea/
The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast host Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) speaks to Gregory Poling, senior fellow for Southeast Asia and director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about recent events around Whitsun Reef at Union Bank in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Click the play button to the right to listen.

As mentioned in the OP, he speaks of the the Vietnamese government having 4 military outposts there, and their involvement in the dispute. A short term policy with the Philippines to bring US forces closer than 2 days away is being discussed as Manila is changing its tone on rotational basing, implementing US access to bases, and reworking a VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement).

And there is pressure from the Philippine government on a mutual defense treaty with the US.

Early this week, a Philippine military aircraft received warnings from a Chinese fleet when it flew over the Julian Felipe Reef to check the presence of Chinese vessels in an area considered way within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Over 200 suspected Chinese militia vessels flocked the reef last month.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Locsin said shooting down a Philippine military aircraft in the West Philippine Sea could end in either of two things: start of World War 3 or end of the prestige of the United States as a superpower and policeman of the world. https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/03/chinese-embassy-hits-lorenzanas-perplexing-statement-on-julian-felipe-reef-insists-it-is-part-of-china/