GeoCurrents Community Research: Chinese Lebensraum in the Pacific in the 21st century, Part II

The Paracel Island – The Imperial Frontier

The Paracel Islands are located in the South China Sea. They are composed of more than 30 islets, sandbanks or reefs, and occupy about 15,000 km² of the ocean surface. Both China and Vietnam claim these islands as their territory, but since 1974 they have been occupied by the Chinese Navy. These otherwise uninhabited islands are now garrisoned by a small number of Chinese troops. This archipelago sits over potentially large oil and gas reserves, prompting a territorial dispute between China and Vietnam. In January 1974, South Vietnamese Army officers reported to Saigon that the Chinese Navy was expected to land at two of the larger Paracel Islands. After receiving this report, the South Vietnam sent its Navy and evicted the PRC forces from the islands. The Chinese fleet, however, defeated the naval force of the Republic of Vietnam. During the Vietnamese civil war, the Paracel Islands were not the top priority for either North or South Vietnam. These islands have been administered by the People's Republic of China ever since.

The Spratly Islands – Through a Peaceful solution

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets and islands in the South China Sea. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land, spreading over more than 425,000 square kilometers of sea. About 45 islands are occupied by either the PRC, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam or the Philippines. In addition, Brunei has asked an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on one reef located in the southeastern part of the Spratly island chain. Vietnam claims that many of its old maps include both Paracels and the Spratly Islands as Vietnamese territory, and some of the texts written in the 17th century indicate government-sponsored economic activities around this area. In 1933, France reasserted its long-standing claims dating back to 1887, over both archipelagos on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam. It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, which was strongly protested by the Republic of China. In 1935, the ROC government also claimed sovereignty over the Spratly Islands. Even though Japan occupied some of the islands during World War II, it renounced all claims in compliance with the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty. The naval units of the Vietnamese government took over the islands after the defeat of the French at the end of the First Indochina War. In 1958, the People's Republic of China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters, which encompassed the entire Spratly group.

Following the 1995 dispute between China and the Philippines, an ASEAN-brokered agreement was reached between the PRC and ASEAN member nations. According to this agreement, any participant country would inform the others of any military movement within the disputed territory; it also stipulated that no further construction would be allowed. The agreement was, however, promptly violated during the dispute between China and Malaysia. Claiming storm damage, seven Chinese naval vessels entered this area to repair “fishing shelters.” The Philippines staged formal protests, demanded the removal of the structures, increased naval patrols and invited American politicians to inspect the PRC bases by airplane. In the 21^st century, China and ASEAN countries have been engaged in talks to create a code of conduct with an aim to easing tensions surrounding these disputed Islands. On March 2002, an agreement was reached, which sets forth the willingness of the concerned nations to resolve the problem of sovereignty in the South China Sea without further use of force. In November 2002, a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was signed, which resulted in easing tensions, but fell far short of a legally binding code of conduct.

Chinese Lebensraum in the Pacific in the 21^st century

In 2000, the PRC released its Defense White Paper and Taiwan White Paper, where it warned that “If Taiwan seek independence..……PRC cannot help choosing every possible alternatives, use of force is including”. In addition, according to Military Power of the People’s Republic of China issued in 2009 and 2010, the US DoD’s annual report to Congress, the PRC military perceives the two “island chains” as forming a geographic basis for China’s maritime defensive perimeter. The first island chain encompasses the entire areas of East China Sea and South China Sea, including Taiwan, of course, the Korean peninsula and some part of Japan. The second island chain covers most of the West Pacific. Chinese navy strategists believe that these two chains are essential for the security of their country, and sooner or later they will formally request the international community, including the U.S., to recognize these areas as falling within the Chinese sphere of influence. Such actions can be interpreted as China’s declaration of new Lebensraum in the Pacific area in the latter half of the 21^st century.

In the same vein, the DoD has stated in the report that China is developing a land-based Anti-ship Ballistic Missile based on the DF (Dong Feng)-21, with a range of up to 3,000km. The report added that this would be the world’s first and only weapons system capable of targeting a moving aircraft carrier strike group from long range, land-based mobile launchers. The PRC’s installation of advanced ASBM means that the aircraft carrier strike group of U.S. Seventh Fleet, stationed in Japan, will not be able to enter the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea if Taiwan were to be invaded or the Spratly conquered by another country.