US must back up the words in its South China Sea remark

[unhappycamper]

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/world-issues/2014/07/15/412330/p1/US-must.htm

US must back up the words in its South China Sea remark
The China Post new staff
July 15, 2014, 12:00 am TWN

On Saturday, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael Fuchs called on the parties in South China Sea territorial disputes to agree to a 'voluntary freeze' on provocative behavior. Fuchs appealed for a concrete development of principles laid out in the 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DoC) signed between China and ASEAN.

Couched in diplomatic pleasantries, the DoC affirms universal principles of non-interference, peaceful resolution to conflicts and “promotion of economic prosperity.” The beautiful-sounding points require parties to operate on the basis of existing international laws governing operations on the seas and diplomacy, and also affirm the right to free navigation as well as overflight.

It is evident to all, though, that those principles have been violated repeatedly since then. In the area that China claims 90 percent of, we have seen in the past three years the country blockading Second Thomas Shoal, setting up a municipal government on the island of Sansha, and recently constructing oil rigs in areas disputed by Vietnam. The Philippines released evidence of what it calls China reclaiming the Johnson Reef.

While Fuchs says that no single party is wholly responsible for tensions, he explicitly points out that the U.S. considers China to be provocative. And he is right. In the context of geopolitical strategic balance, China is clearly acting to take advantage of its resources, from population to economic wealth to military might.