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Chinese analyst calls
for war in South China Sea
¡¥SEA OF FIRE¡¦: Long Tao wrote that Beijing
should strike the Philippines and Vietnam, the two ¡¥noisiest troublemakers,¡¦ to
strike fear into other claimants
By J. Michael Cole / Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reaffirmed Taiwan¡¦s sovereignty over
disputed islands in the South China Sea and called on all claimants to
peacefully resolve the impasse.
The comments came after an editorial published in the Chinese-language edition
of the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times called on the Beijing government
to declare war on Vietnam and the Philippines, two countries that have been
proactive in defending their claims over the islets.
The op-ed, titled ¡§A good time to take military action in the South China Sea,¡¨
was penned by Long Tao (ÀsÃü), a strategic analyst at the non-governmental China
Energy Fund Committee and also at Zhejiang University¡¦s Non-Traditional Security
and Peace Development Research Center.
¡§Do not worry about small-scale wars; it is the best way to release the
potential of war. Play a few small battles and big battles can be avoided,¡¨ Long
wrote, adding that military action should be focused on striking the Philippines
and Vietnam, ¡§the two noisiest troublemakers,¡¨ to achieve the effect of killing
one chicken to scare the monkeys.
Through military action, he wrote, China could transform the South China Sea
into ¡§a sea of fire,¡¨ an act made possible by the fact that ¡§of the more than
1,000 oil rigs and four airfields on the Spratly Islands, none belongs to
China.¡¨
On the risks of military action inviting intervention by the international
community, the author took an optimistic note.
¡§The US has not withdrawn from the war on terrorism and the Middle East ... so
it cannot afford to open a second front in the South China Sea,¡¨ he wrote,
adding that the ¡§decisive shot¡¨ by Russia in the Caspian Sea in 2008 served as a
model. ¡§[Military] action by a big country in the international arena may result
in initial shock, but in the long run, regional stability can be achieved
through great power strategic reconciliation.¡¨
Taiwan, along with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and
China, claims sovereignty over archipelagos in the area, which are believed to
have rich oil and natural gas resources.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (³¹p¥) said the ministry would
not comment on Chinese media reports.
However, Chang reiterated the government¡¦s position that the Spratly Islands,
Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Islands, Pratas Islands and nearby waters were
part of Taiwan¡¦s territory and territorial waters, and called on claimants to
peacefully resolve disputes surrounding the region through negotiation and
dialogue.
Taiwan has always upheld the principle of shelving sovereignty disputes and
jointly exploring resources based on the principle and spirit of the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea, he said.
Taiwan does not recognize any resolution reached without its participation and
has called for a multilateral mechanism for countries in the region to
participate in discussions to seek peaceful development of the region, he added.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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