Will China Soon Claim the Western Pacific?

Boats beside Chinese structures and buildings on the man-made Fiery Cross Reef at the Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea on March 20, 2022. Aaron Favila/AP Photo

Commentary

If communist China’s recent words and deeds reflect a calculated design and totalitarian intent, soon we will hear Beijing declare the entire western Pacific Ocean a sovereign Chinese sea, where Beijing rules—so-called international laws, treaties, and U.N. resolutions be damned.