Filipinos march as they mark Independence Day with a protest against continued Chinese intrusions in Philippine waters, outside the Chinese Embassy in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, on June 12, 2021. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)
China’s Coast Guard recently adopted new enforcement directives from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The new policies instruct the China Coast Guard to arrest foreigners and have drawn international scrutiny due to territorial disputes in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The CCP’s move was seen as an escalation of those disputes.
On May 15, the China Coast Guard adopted new rules regarding handling “criminal cases,” which will come into effect on June 15, 2023. The rules (pdf) further specify that foreigners may be held liable for crimes against Chinese citizens or the Chinese state, even when committed outside of China’s territorial waters.
Xia Yifan, a member of the Federation for a Democratic China and an expert on Chinese social issues, believes that according to the 2016 judgment of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Chinese regime’s maritime claims and actions in the South China Sea violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Therefore, the CCP wants to enforce the law by virtue of its own decree, and it authorizes the China Coast Guard to arrest what it considers to be foreign “criminals.” Such an act in and of itself is a violation of international law.
China’s Plan to Suppress Countries Such as the Philippines and Vietnam
The Chinese regime has long been involved in territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and even Taiwan over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. In recent years, China has escalated its outward expansion, and China Coast Guard vessels, including state-backed fishing vessels, have often confronted or clashed with these countries.
On Feb. 6, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel was on a mission to assist the Philippine Navy in the South China Sea on the Second Thomas Shoal when it was approached by a China Coast Guard vessel. The Philippine Coast Guard was forced to change its course due to the Chinese ship aiming military laser beams and temporarily blinding several Philippine crew members. The CCP’s foreign ministry claimed that the Philippine ship was in Chinese waters although the Philippines is in control of the disputed atolls.
On May 7, a China Coast Guard vessel photographed a Vietnamese drilling platform in the waters of Vanguard Bank to collect “evidence,” but was stopped by Vietnam’s Fishery Administration vessel. This was considered a new incident of conflict between the two countries.
On May 7, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel (Right) fires a water cannon at a Vietnamese vessel off the coast of Vietnam. China insisted it had every right to drill for oil off Vietnam's coast and warned its neighbor to leave the area around the deep-sea rig where Chinese and Vietnamese ships are engaged in a tense standoff. The United States warned both sides to de-escalate tensions and urged China to clarify its claims to the territory. (Vietnam Coast Guard/AP Photo)
Vietnam regards oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea as critical to its economy, as they contribute to a significant proportion of Vietnam’s total state revenue. The oil reserves of Vanguard Bank total over 5 billion tons, and the natural gas reserves are trillions of cubic meters, making it one of the three largest oil- and gas-rich areas in the Spratly Islands. Vanguard Bank is only 250 miles from the coast of Vietnam but over 750 miles from the southernmost point of China.
However, since July 2017, Vietnam lost over $1 billion due to suspending its oil and gas contracts in the Spratly Islands with Spanish, Russian, and Japanese energy companies due to pressure from the Chinese regime.
In response to the situation, in 2020, then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly accused the CCP of bullying tactics in the South China Sea, saying for the first time that China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea are completely illegal. The statement indicated that the United States might be willing to assist Vietnam and other countries in protecting their offshore oil and gas reserves against Chinese aggression.
China’s Expansionist Policies Encouraged the US and the Philippines to Join Forces
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is increasing military expenditure to develop his navy. The CCP, now with two aircraft carriers, aims to take more control over the Spratly Islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
The conflict between China and the Philippines has deteriorated since 2014. This is partly due to China’s building of 10 artificial island bases in the South China Sea, including a military base deep in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Herman Kraft, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines, said that the bilateral relations between Manila and Beijing were not a big problem in the past due to their mutual interests in the South China Sea. “However, in 2012, [China] tried to seize control of the Second Thomas Shoal, and then in 2014, they started building these artificial islands,” said Kraft. This significantly changed the countries’ relationship.
Further tension between China and the Philippines resulted from the 2016 ruling of The Hague Tribunal in favor of the Philippines over China in the two countries’ respective claims in the South China Sea. The tribunal unanimously ruled that China does not have historical rights to natural resources in the South China Sea based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
On Feb. 2, U.S. and Philippine defense secretaries issued a joint statement accelerating the implementation of the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) shared by the United States and the Philippines, which will add four military bases for use by the United States. The announcement was seen as a move to counter the CCP in the region. The confrontation between the Chinese and Philippine Coast Guards happened only three days after the announcement.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held a meeting at the White House on May 1. The two presidents reaffirmed the decades-old U.S.-Philippine security alliance.
Shi believes the Chinese regime’s new policy for its China Coast Guard was a defiant expression in response to the Philippines’ latest offer of four military bases to the United States.
Xia suggested that the United States may be accelerating the construction of an anti-communist alliance around the South China Sea. Furthermore, if an anti-communist alliance is formed, Taiwan will no doubt also be safer from China’s daily aggression, according to Xia.
