EXPANSIONIST:
China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said
By Chen Yun and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writer
China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday.China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.”Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that is gradually undermining the security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, they said.
A Philippine fishing boat sails past a Chinese Coast Guard ship in the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island) in the South China Sea on Feb. 5, 2023.
