Countering Beijing’s aggression

Four years ago the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague flatly rejected Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea. But that time lag does nothing to diminish the significance of the Trump administration’s action now in formally declaring the claims to be “completely unlawful” and explicitly warning that “the world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire”. Amid rising tensions, with rival naval deployments, including US aircraft carriers, tailing each other across the sea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s forceful denunciation of Chinese “bullying and intimidation” will enrage Beijing. His declaration abandons the official diplomatic US position of neutrality over China’s claims. Like Australia, Washington has long maintained sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved through international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, without taking sides.

Mr Pompeo’s declaration robustly aligns the remaining superpower with the countries of Southeast Asia — Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines — in defending themselves against militaristic Chinese bullying. Few strategic moves by the Trump administration at this time could be more significant, particularly for the nerve-racked small nations that have felt increasingly alone in attempting to confront Beijing’s shameless attempts to plunder their resources. Since the onset of the pandemic, Chinese vessels have tailed Malaysian oil-exploration boats and rammed Vietnamese fishing boats. Beijing has left no doubt about its determination to repudiate accepted global norms of conduct and to control commercial activity in the region.

When this month the US deployed two of its biggest warships to the region, state media in China boasted the country “has a wide selection of anti-aircraft carrier weapons”. Pompously it claimed “any aircraft carrier movement in the region is at the pleasure” of the Chinese military. Really?

In making his announcement, Mr Pompeo put it in the context of the US “strengthening its policy on South China Sea maritime claims”. With $US5 trillion of international trade passing by ship through these waters every year, including much of the oil that fuels the global economy, the Trump administration must lose no time in showing it means what it says.

Understandably, given prevailing circumstances, Australia cautiously restated its diplomatic position that all disputes in the South China Sea must be resolved through international law. But our participation in regional naval exercises alongside the US leaves no doubt about our commitment to the defence of the right to freedom of navigation and national sovereignty.

Peter Jennings of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said the US was “judging that China is potentially getting ready to push aggressively on one or other of (its) objectives in the region”, the most likely being Taiwan or the risk of China declaring an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea. However events evolve, the US declaration is timely. It should leave Xi Jinping in no doubt about the determination of the US to counter China’s unrelenting aggression and adventurism in the South China Sea and broader Indo-Pacific region. Ahead of November’s election, Mr Trump doubtless sees potential political advantage in being seen to be standing up to Mr Xi. Both he and Joe Biden must make it clear they will do whatever it takes to defend the region against Chinese aggression.