China, the elephant in the room

If Asia were a big room, there would be an elephant inside it, or a panda, if you will. And that is nothing else but power-driven China. Its leader Xi Jinping is driven by an ambition to dominate not only the Asia-Pacific region but the whole world. And because of China's excessive aggressions, all the countries in the region have come to an inevitable unification. China is causing a lot of tension that undermines the peace and stability of the region.

According to the US Department of State, and I think its observation is valid, the Chinese Communist Party led by Xi, is using multiple military and economic coercive tactics to bully its neighbors including Taiwan, (which it claims to be a recalcitrant province), Japan and, most of all, the Philippines. The US is charging Beijing for recklessly making unlawful maritime claims, illegally constructing installations inside the territories and exclusive maritime zones of other countries, irregularly making threats in international maritime shipping lanes and destabilizing many territories in the peripheries of the People's Republic of China. America declared that China's predatory conduct is destabilizing the peace in the region and pushing the Asia Pacific basin to the brink of miscalculation and conflicts.

The US State Department deciphered reports detailing secret military agreements between China and Cambodia. A Chinese military presence in Cambodia could threaten both regional stability and the position of ASEAN. Further, it could undermine the prospects for the peaceful settlement of disputes, the promotion of maritime safety and security, and the freedom of navigation and overflight. Cambodia will also become suspected by its ASEAN partners like Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It is also disturbing that China is strategically deploying its coast guard, military, and the world’s largest commercial fishing fleet to intimidate and challenge its neighbors.

For more than a decade, the PRC has operated ships and planes near the Senkaku Islands --a group of uninhabited islands that reverted to Japan’s administration in 1971 under the Okinawa Reversion Agreement. In 2016, hundreds of PRC fishing vessels swarmed the waters of the?Senkakus?in a move calculated by the CCP to?undermine Japan’s administration. The Chinese intimidations against our fishermen, as well as its notorious water cannon attacks against our supply vessels are palpable evidence of Beijing's cavalier, high-handed, and arrogant, if you will, bullying tactics against the Philippines. China does not recognize international law. It believes and behaves as if it's over and above the law. It does not honor the ruling of the international tribunal and insists to uphold its principle of might is right, instead of right is might.

Chinese and Indian troops, since May of 2020, have clashed at several locations along the Sino-Indian border. The PRC instigated this crisis by seizing disputed territory on the Indian border. Therefore, the onus for resolving the crisis is on the PRC to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its military forces to pre-May positions. That is why last month, India sent its foreign minister to Manila, and through him, India declared its support for the Philippines against the bullying tactics of Xi Jinping. The enemy of your enemy is your friend. China's illegal aggressions have united two victims, the Philippines and India.

Chinese officials stated for many years that Beijing would never seek overseas bases --up until they officially opened a base in Djibouti in 2017. The PRC refers to its base in Djibouti as a logistics facility, even though PLA Navy Marines are stationed there equipped with armored vehicles and artillery.

The US warns that the reprehensible consequence of Beijing's militarization is most acutely felt in the South China Sea, where the PRC built several bases despite President Xi’s unambiguous promise in 2015 to not militarize the Spratly Islands. Beijing now uses those locations to expand its intimidation and coercion of many Southeast Asian coastal states and undermine their efforts to exercise their sovereign rights under international law.

My take on this is that China can never be trusted. It does not honor its words. It does not give a damn about international law. And it does not respect the sovereignty and territorial rights of other nations. It is, for the longest time, the perennial elephant in any room. With Russia and North Korea, China is the worst among the bad boys in the block.