US should consider big picture of the US-China relationship
- By Shen Dingli
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 14, 2015
The United States is worried that China's building of artificial islands will increase its claims on its territories. But in fact, those islands are small and the South China Sea hasn't shrunk in any way. Many countries in this region have built more artificial islands; the United States has selectively ignored them, but when it saw China's constructions, it wanted to interfere flagrantly. China is building its own artificial islands in its own sovereign territory, which has nothing to do with the United States. The United States tells China to stop building islands, but if China insists on the principles, what will the United States do?
In the South China Sea disputes, the United States' peremptory attitude will not give it any advantages, just as the U.S. attack on Iraq was not justified. China has the right to maintain national security, and will enhance its maritime administrative abilities to maintain the stability of the South China Sea. China has already said it welcomes the United States and other nations to share Chinese facilities and services after the artificial island projects are completed. The United States just can't use its doubts as evidence to convict others. The United States is a country which claims to maintain international law, but how can it presume others guilty in the international community?
The world needs stability, and the Pacific Asia region needs balance. After other claimants publicly or indirectly admitted or silently accepted China's sovereignty of the four groups of islands in the South China Sea, their unilateral military actions to occupy China's territories didn't have any legal validity, and broke their commitments. As the number one superpower in the world, the United States should be fair about this. It should not take sides with its allies. It needs to stick to the facts and speak out to help the region to reach stability. Even though China has faced challenges over its sovereignty, it still expressed its willingness to put aside disputes and explore the region together with other relevant countries. The United States is lucky to be able to deal with China, a reasonable nation.
The United States took China's tolerance for granted and didn't express any appreciation. It has got used to the hegemony which has maintained the international order. It doesn't try to achieve world peace with justice and fairness. If it still wants to continue using this scheme with a rapidly rising China, the result will not be good.
The situation looked slightly better when U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter later arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue and made a milder speech. He named several countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia regarding the island constructions. There was a sharp needle hidden in his tender speech as he demanded every nation to stop the constructions. He was aiming at certain countries, but he was to show fairness and balance at the surface. He also said he would try hard to help enhance the cooperation between China and the U.S. military forces, which is worthy of recognition.
But the key is Mr. Carter, as a U.S. defense secretary, needs to understand that the South China Sea is vast, so why does America need to take sides? The Sino-American relationship is so important. It cannot just be defined by the South China Sea issue. Relying on historical evidence and international law to maintain regional stability and global prosperity, is the common international responsibility of Beijing and Washington DC. The United States needs to take more solid action to ensure stability, rather than making empty threats that are irresponsible and untenable.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/shendingli.htm
This article was written in Chinese and translated by Zhang Rui.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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