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The USS John S McCain, Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Arunta and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force’s JS Kirisame operate together during trilateral exercises in the South China Sea on October 22. The multinational coalition that has rejected China’s claims in the South China Sea runs counter to claims of US imperialist ambitions in the disputed waters. Photo: Handout
OpinionLetters

Letters | South China Sea: US and its allies upholding international law is not ‘imperialism’

South China Sea
Letters
Letters
Why you can trust SCMP
Mr W.L. Chang’s application of the adjective “imperialistic” to the United States’ actions in the South China Sea and East China Sea is absurd (“US threats over South China Sea could exact a heavy price”, November 19). The US makes no claims on these waters.
China, on the other hand, treats the waters as its own – a territorial grab which was shot down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016 where the South China Sea is concerned and which is being used as a marker of China’s growing hegemonistic ambitions, including over international waters, in sharp contradiction to its slogan of a “peaceful” rise.
Seen in this light, how can anyone assert that China is acting in defence of its territorial sovereignty in the South and East China seas? Is there one civilised nation which has recognised China’s nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea in contrast with those who have spoken up against it and have been or are being harassed and threatened for doing so?

There is a growing multilateral effort – comprising nations from near and far, of Asians, Europeans and Americans – to ensure, in accordance with United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea and other international law, that the South China Sea does not fall into Chinese hands. Is this not ample evidence that all law-abiding nations, not just Western nations, are involved in managing the waters?

06:24

Explained: the history of China’s territorial disputes

Explained: the history of China’s territorial disputes

Nobody wants a war. However, as history has shown, appeasement of roguish behaviour will not lead to regional and global peace and stability. Only a commitment to enforcing international law will.

Hopefully China and its supporters will understand this concept soon.

John Chan, Singapore

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