Beijing steps up presence to assert South China Sea claims

Ships from the Chinese fishery administration anchored at the dock. (File photo/CNS)

China has been increasing its presence to reassert its territorial claims over islands in the South China Sea, setting up administrative offices and deploying more patrol ships in the region.
On June 21, the Chinese government established the administrative region of "Sansha City" to cover the Paracel and Spratly islands as well as Macclesfield Bank and designated four areas on the Paracels as cultural heritage protection zones, according to Duowei, a media outlet operated by overseas Chinese.
State-owned oil giant China National Offshore Oil also opened up nine oilfields for bids from foreign investors recently, seeking joint exploration of the region's resources, said to contain 23-30 billion tons of high-quality oil. The areas overlap with oilfields claimed by Vietnam, which have been jointly developed for years with India, Russia and Exxon Mobile, says Do Van Hau, CEO of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, according to Hong Kong-based news agency Phoenix New Media.
The move of the Chinese oil company is considered a response to the "requests" of Vietnam over the sovereignty and exploration rights over the region, said Duowei. Beijing insists that the islands belong to China and that any dispute over sovereignty should be set aside for joint development — in other words, that it maintains its claims over the area but will consider sharing economic interests with other countries, said Qiao Liangshao, the deputy general secretary of the country's Council for National Security Policy Studies.
At the same time, Beijing has been stepping up its military presence in the region. The state oceanic administration has planned to dispatch 83 surveillance ships capable of carrying helicopters to conduct regular patrols over the maritime area.
"China's navy should play a more important role in protecting our fishing boasts and territory. We can not protect our fishing boats with fishery administration and surveillance ships," said Luo Yuan, a PLA major general and a researcher with the PLA Military Science Academy. The general, known for his hawkish views, sees the sovereignty disputes over the sea as "testing strategies" on the part of neighboring countries, who are trying to see whether an emergent China will back down on disputes as in the past.
China has deployed a fleet of 17 tank-landing ships and nine guided missile destroyers in the South China Sea, the largest of its three fleets, according to Duowei.
Luo said China will use force if neighboring countries go too far but "will give peace a chance if it is still possible to resolve disputes peacefully."
China has conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea with Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. A recent standoff between China and the Philippines in the area of the disputed Scarborough Shoal threatened to spiral out of control with tensions and nationalistic sentiment in both countries running high.

Source :http://www.wantchinatimes.com