In 1982, under the witness of more than 160 countries of the United Nations, " United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea " was officially adopted. For the first time, the convention clarified the boundaries of the territorial waters of various countries, and changed the former default rule of 3 nautical miles in the Western camp to 12 nautical miles.
The adoption of this convention is inseparable from the efforts of Chinese diplomats. This has not only won China more abundant marine resources, but also won more sovereignty and development for the majority of the third world countries. right.
If Chairman Mao, who has passed away, can see this gratifying result, he will certainly be able to show a gratified smile.
In fact, as early as 63 years ago, that is, in 1958, Chairman Mao first emphasized the sea power bounded by 12 nautical miles. In the battle of ’s shelling of Kinmen, the government issued a warning to the US forces trying to split China: “ 12 nautical miles is China’s rule. As long as they dare to cross the line, even the Americans will not miss it! ”
The stubborn American imperialism once again exposed the nature of their paper tigers, and hurriedly retreated!
So, why does Chairman Mao want to enact such a tough sea power? Today, I will tell you the origin of this policy.
1. Cut off the extended hands of imperialism
Since the birth of the ocean, the ocean has been full of temptation and challenge to mankind. , And this has brought about the prosperity of mankind all over the world.
The concept of "sea power" has also existed since ancient times, and what really brought this concept into people's vision started with the colonialism that shrouded the world in the 19th century.
With the gradual completion of the industrial revolution in the West, imperialists shamelessly carve up marine resources with absolute military-industrial power, and trample on the sovereignty of Eastern countries under their feet.
my country's modern history of humiliation also began with the rise of maritime hegemony. Until the Republic of China, the warships of the great powers could still sail unimpeded on the Yangtze River.
Based on this painful reality, on the eve of the founding of New China, Chairman Mao said when discussing the issue of sea power after the founding of the People’s Republic of China: “ imperialism stretched too long! ”
in order to cut With the hand extended by the imperialists, the Chinese Communist Party has formally expressed its stance on safeguarding China's sea power. In April 1949, the PLA headquarters issued a statement: " foreign military forces should withdraw from Chinese territorial waters ".
However, how can Western countries that are accustomed to pirates care about this statement? So, not long after the statement was issued, Chairman Mao personally issued a statement demanding that the three countries of Britain, France and the United States must withdraw from China, including the territory, territorial waters, territorial waters, and airspace! This time Chairman Mao used the extremely strong word "must" instead of the previous "should".
2. The British ignored the warning and the People’s Liberation Army shelled the Amethyst
Chairman Mao’s statement was so strong that the British and American Ambitious Wolves continued to ignore the warning on the Yangtze River. It was on the eve of the crossing the river ,The British warship Amethyst completely ignored our warnings and forced to cross the river section of the front line of the People's Liberation Army.
The People's Liberation Army decisively shelled the Amethyst, and the heavily damaged Amethyst eventually ran aground on the Yangtze River. Encountered such a counterattack, the United Kingdom did not give up. They continued to send British Navy Far East Fleet "Mate" destroyer, "London" heavy cruiser, "Black Swan" frigate to come for reinforcements, all were reinforced by heroic artillery. repel.
In the end, the Amethyst fled in a hurry with the dignity of the "Daqi" empire. The People's Liberation Army has upheld the sovereignty and dignity of our country with firm determination and extraordinary courage, and declared to the Western powers that China is no longer weak to be deceived in the strongest way!
3. The U.S. imperial vain attempt to split China, Chairman Mao resolutely shelled Kinmen, 12 nautical miles is the range of the cannon
With the founding of New China, the Chinese people who have suffered for more than a century are preparing Take a good rest. However, the trees wanted to be quiet and the wind continued, and the United States shamelessly intervened in the Korean War and burned the flames of war from the 38th parallel to the Yalu River. In order to keep the hard-won peace, our country had no choice but to end the war with war. The great People's Volunteers finally drove the aggressors back with the cold weather and aircraft cannons.
The failure of the Korean battlefield is a huge shame to the indomitable Americans, so they provoke the coastal situation in China, and after trying to assist Chiang Kai-shek in their failure to attack Hainan, they openly worsened the situation in the Taiwan Strait!
The far-sighted Chairman Mao resolutely gave instructions to bombard Kinmen. He even directly said to the US government: " Any war provocation by the United States will not scare the Chinese, but will only arouse the Chinese people on the contrary. The determination of the American invaders to fight! ”
At that time,Chairman Mao has given orders to the commanders and fighters, as long as the U.S. warship is within range, it will not be missed directly!
As the situation in the Taiwan Strait becomes more tense, the issue of territorial waters has become more prominent. On September 4, 1958, the first "Statement on the Territorial Sea" of New China was released, officially stipulating that the width of China's territorial sea was 12 nautical miles.
Why did Chairman Mao set the width at 12 nautical miles instead of 3 nautical miles as an international practice? There are two reasons for this: 1. The range of 3 nautical miles is too small, so even the Bohai Sea will become the open sea; 2. The original 3 nautical mile range of the West was derived from the range of their artillery. The range of the coastal defense gun is calculated, and this range is 12 nautical miles.
Such a strong statement will naturally not be recognized by these American careerists, and our country does not need their recognition! Westerners have never had the final say in this world. Even if they set the rules first, China will not succumb! Westerners are full of natural human rights, but they always want to trample on the rights of other countries with their own rights. Such a hypocritical mask needs someone to ruthlessly tear him off!
On the day the statement was issued, the United States came to violate the bottom line of the Chinese people. The moment one of their supply ship broke into our country's territorial waters, it was instantly hit by our army! The true colors of the American paper tigers are once again exposed. They have nothing to do but run away hastily.
4. The dignity of the territorial waters requires a powerful navy to protect it. But they set up their military bases around our country's territorial waters, from Japan to the Philippines, from South Korea to Singapore. Their ambitions are not dead, and they are always eyeing our country's rich marine resources.
With the secret support of the United States,The Philippines, Malaysia and other countries often harass our coastal islands and reefs.
Especially in the 1971 Xisha naval battle , the Chinese navy withstood the huge gap in equipment, defeated the strong with the weak, repelled the South China Sea Fleet , but could not do anything further on the islands.
is also because of this battle, which strengthened our country's determination to build a strong navy. There is no sea without defense, and China’s coastal defense has a long way to go.
In 1987, the Philippines renewed a dispute with my country over the Nansha issue. During his visit to China, the President of the Philippines provocatively said to Deng Xiaoping: " , at least geographically, those islands are closer to the Philippines. "
Deng Xiaoping took a quick cigarette and said with a smile: "" Geographically, the Philippines is also very close to China ."
Behind this sentence is the contest of naval power between the two countries. Thanks to my country's increasingly powerful navy, China's territorial waters have real dignity!
.
