‘More destructive than US’: China hits out at Japan’s military role in South China Sea
A prominent Chinese maritime analyst has warned that Japan’s expanding military role in the South China Sea could become more destabilising than that of the United States, as regional tensions continue to rise following the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2016 arbitration ruling that rejected Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims.Speaking at a security round table in Hong Kong on Monday, Wu Shicun, founding president of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said military deployments, joint exercises and maritime patrols by countries outside the region had increased sharply, making what he described as “unilateral infringements” increasingly normalised.Wu’s remarks came a day after Beijing rejected renewed international backing for the Hague tribunal’s ruling, which China continues to dismiss as “null and void”.
Japan’s growing military role
Japan’s participation in this year’s Balikatan military exercises with the United States and the Philippines featured prominently in Wu’s criticism.He pointed to Tokyo’s deployment of more than 1,400 personnel, three warships and transport aircraft during the drills, as well as the first overseas live firing of Japan’s Type 88 surface-to-ship missile system, which struck a decommissioned Philippine Navy vessel.“This is the first time that Japan has shown off its military muscle since the end of World War II,” Wu said.“Japan’s military forces’ deployment into the South China Sea is inherently destructive, carrying a potential risk that may ultimately surpass even that of the United States.”Wu also argued that continued reliance on the 2016 arbitration ruling by the Philippines and its partners would make lasting stability in the disputed waters difficult.“As long as Manila and its partners do not give up using the ruling to serve their own interests, peace and stability in the South China Sea cannot be guaranteed,” he said.
Beijing rejects criticism
The comments came amid renewed diplomatic friction following Sunday’s statements by 14 countries, including the United States and the Philippines, reaffirming the 2016 Hague tribunal ruling as legally binding and criticising China for refusing to comply with it.Japan separately said Beijing’s non-compliance ran “against the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes”, prompting China to summon a senior Japanese embassy official to lodge a formal protest.China’s foreign ministry said Japan was “not a party to the South China Sea dispute” and had “no right to point fingers” over China’s territorial claims.The ministry also criticised Japan’s recent security activities, including defence equipment exports to the Philippines, overseas military deployments and missile launches, saying they went “far beyond the scope of self-defence” under Japan’s post-war pacifist framework.Separately, Qi Dahai, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s Department of Treaty and Law, accused Washington of escalating tensions in the region by strengthening military cooperation with its allies.“It builds small cliques, issues so-called joint statements, sows discord and fans the flames in the region,” Qi said.China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea despite the 2016 arbitration ruling, which found there was no legal basis for its expansive “nine-dash line” claims under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing rejected both the proceedings and the ruling, while the Philippines, the United States, Japan and several other countries continue to cite the decision as the legal basis for resolving disputes in the strategic waterway.
