‘Show our swords’: Beijing must harden its stance against rival challenges in the South China Sea, expert says

Chinese maritime expert Wu Shicun warns this year will see ‘unprecedented and disturbing’ challenges in the contested waters

Remarks come after China’s coastguard said it ‘legally drove away’ a Philippine coastguard vessel that ‘intruded near Scarborough Shoal’

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After the latest clash between Chinese and Philippine coastguard ships on Monday, a maritime expert has warned of ‘unprecedented’ challenges for China in the contested waters this year. Photo: AP

Published: 3:53pm, 6 Feb 2024Updated: 4:54pm, 6 Feb 2024

Beijing should “show our swords when necessary” and adjust its strategy to counter challenges from rival claimants in the South China Sea, according to a leading Chinese expert.

Wu Shicun, chairman of the Huayang Centre for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, said in an article on Tuesday that patience and self-control from China would not be enough.

“The history and reality of the development and evolution of the situation in the South China Sea since the turn of the century have given us an important revelation, namely, that long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea cannot be achieved only by China’s unilateral restraint and forbearance,” Wu said.

Wu’s assessment comes as tensions mount in the South China Sea, particularly between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal and the Second Thomas Shoal, where the vessels from the two countries have faced off and sometimes collided.

In the latest run-in between the rival claimants, Beijing said on Monday that it drove away a Philippine coastguard vessel that it accused of “intruding” into waters near Scarborough Shoal.

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