South China Sea becomes Beijing's latest 'core interest'

First there were Tibet , Taiwan and Xinjiang . Now the South China Sea has become the latest addition to China's 'core interests' in territorial integrity.

The elevation of a strategic body of water's importance to the level of national interest on par with Tibet and Taiwan speaks volumes not just about China's increasing naval ambition but also an intensifying competition in Asia's oceans.

The talks on China's assertion over the South China Sea and, hence, its naval power in the region were renewed as Japan's Kyodo news agency on Saturday reported a piece of news that took place in March.

The report said Chinese officials told two visiting senior US officials, deputy secretary of state Dr James Steinberg and senior director for Asian Affairs on the National Security Council Jeffery Bader, that it considered the South China Sea as part of its 'core interest' of sovereignty.

This was the first time Beijing had labelled the South China Sea as a 'core' national interest, meaning Beijing brooks no compromise over issues relating to it.

First reported by The New York Times in April, the report did not create much of a stir then. But at a time when China faces the possible presence of a US aircraft carrier at its doorstep and a recent request for a visit by US Secretary of Defence Dr Robert Gates being denied by Beijing, the Kyodo report received attention from home and abroad.

'China now attaches more importance to its naval capacity build-up as it is in the process of shaping its maritime strategy,' said Professor Jin Canrong, associate dean of Renmin University's school of international studies.