The South China Sea is an area south of China between Vietnam and the Philippine Islands. This hotly contested body of water contains vast oil reserves and is the most politically important body of water on the planet. It has more shipping running through it than anywhere else. It is also a choke point for China’s expansion.
China wants more, more of everything. The South China Sea is the key to unlock its regional supremacy. If China can take control of these waters, it will be able to topple Taiwan, and make Vietnam and the Philippine Islands puppets of Beijing. Next to fall would be Malaysia and Indonesia. Once China breaks out of the South China Sea, who will be next, Australia?
This gamble by China is a long play for not just regional control but world dominance.
The longer the rest of the world coddles China and lets it get away with all of its crazy nonsense, all of its salami slicing (taking little slices at a time), the bigger the problem will become.
What can the rest of the world do… lots. Start doing what China is doing, push back. Start making islands on those chunks of rocks. Toss up some radar stations, landing strips and build a couple small tourist resorts on those rocks in the South China Sea. Start chasing their fishing fleets out of the contested waters. Stop allowing China to harass others from fishing or interfering with freedom of passage in the South China Sea or anywhere else. Stop giving a damn about China’s feeling. Remember this is a country that is comitting genocide right now and wants to take over the rest of the world.
The only way a tyrant will change is by force. The big play on the map is supporting Taiwan. Giving massive support to Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines forces China to rethink its, death by a thousand cuts approach to the west. Let’s not just push these countries into the arms of China. The United States has supplied Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh and others with surplus ships for their respective coast guards. Other nations are also stepping up. Japan just completed a lend/lease for 6 coast guard ships (worth $345 million) to Vietnam. Israel has been selling massive amounts of arms to Vietnam lately. If only Germany, France and the UK would do their part in the region. Supporting Taiwan (Anyone have a few dozen surplus F-16 or portable land base defense systems and specially some anti-ship missiles to donate?) would tell China their plans for expansion are not going to work. China broke its promise for “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong. Let us think, “fortress Taiwan” to secure the free world. Any understanding of Taiwan becoming part of China is solely up to Taiwan. Let us help China take a different course, one that leads away from war.
Let the CCP get rid of Xi Jinping and work at repairing its relationship with the rest of the world. Who knows, maybe after a regime change, Taiwan may want to form some kind of federation with China. Taiwan could teach China something about their shared culture that China has lost and about how to be a good citizen that could inspire the rest of the world.
image sources
- South_China_Sea: Nasa | Public Domain