entered modern society, people gradually began to pay attention to the meaning of life. In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, countries mostly deal with disputes through peaceful dialogues in the process of adhering to the issue of sovereignty.
As a peace-loving nation, China has been slaughtered by aggressive iron hoofs in history. Therefore, we who have started our modernization journey now understand the preciousness of peace. No matter how strong or weak, we give respect to all countries, but when it comes to fundamental sovereignty issues Like our ancestors, we never back down.
Recently, Philippine President Duterte publicly stated in a televised speech that Philippine ships will not move an inch back from the disputed waters of the South China Sea. If the dispute between the two sides continues to escalate, the friendship between China and the Philippines will end here.
As soon as these words came out, the issue of the South China Sea dispute was put in front of everyone's eyes again. As we all know, the South China Sea issue has always been a shackle that prevents our navy from entering the deep blue waters.
This dispute involves China, the United States, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and many other and international forces, and foreigners with ulterior motives frequently make a fuss about the South China Sea issue. the consequences? What are the eye-catching interests hidden in the depths of the South China Sea? What is the role of the countries involved in this?
One. The history of the "South China Sea"
The South China Sea dispute originated in the 1960s and 1970s. After that, the disputes over the South China Sea issue continued to intensify along with the memory of the Chinese in different eras, and the neighboring countries of the South China Sea will dispatch their own naval forces every time Going to the South China Sea and provoking China's sovereignty has a lot of meaning that since I can't get this sea area, you don't want to have it safely.
But this kind of unpopular behavior will not be recognized either legally or morally. After all, China has had sovereignty over the South China Sea since ancient times, which is beyond doubt.
Looking back at history, China has had actual control over the South China Sea as early as and the Western Zhou Dynasty. In 829 BC, Zhou Dynasty The 11th monarch King Xuan of Zhou Ji Jing succeeded to the throne, and the famous model of high officials called tigers Uncle Fang and Uncle Fang jointly assisted King Xuan of Zhou and ushered in the historical moment of "Zhongxing of King Xuan".
Shortly after that, Zhaohu, known in history as "Mr. Mugong", led his troops to pacify and Huaiyi . The area he conquered stretched from Xu State in the north to the coast of the sea in the east. According to "Book of Songs", "Guangdong Tongzhi", " According to the records of books such as Territorial Seas Map" , the monarchs of the South China Sea countries expressed their surrender to the rule of the Western Zhou Dynasty when they heard about the feat of summoning tigers to pacify the Huai Yi people.
So it can be said that China's domination of the South China Sea can be traced back to more than 2,700 years ago.
Subsequent Sui and Tang Dynasties , During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms China has always maintained its actual jurisdiction over the South China Sea, until the Song Dynasty, according to the plan, the Xisha Islands, the Nansha Islands, and the Zhongsha Islands were all under the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou Prefecture. For a long period of time, no matter which feudal dynasty was, it would send troops to patrol the Nansha Islands and develop .
Of course, the South China Sea Islands have not been spared in the history of recent aggression, and the control of the South China Sea is frequently in the hands of France, Japan and other countries. It was not until 1945 that and Japan announced their unconditional surrender, and China's warship was able to garrison the islands in the South China Sea.
Of course, the battle for the sovereignty of the South China Sea has not yet begun. In fact, the origin of China's real threat to the sovereignty of the South China Sea is a resource survey report.
In 1968, a subordinate agency of the United Nations Commission for Asia and the Far East issued a survey report on the waters of the South China Sea. The report showed that there are abundant offshore oil and gas resources in the waters of the South China Sea. As soon as this news came out, countries surrounding the waters of the South China Sea began to occupy the islands in the South China Sea. Attempts to obtain the right to develop oil and gas resources.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which came into effect in 1994, each natural island has a corresponding 200-kilometer exclusive economic zone, and a series of resource exploration, development and utilization are carried out in this area. Activities will be recognized by law.
The promulgation of this convention has intensified the encroachment of the South China Sea islands and reefs by the neighboring countries of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and other countries have proposed to divide the sovereignty of the South China Sea, trying to get a share of the South China Sea.
The South China Sea issue involves politics, economy, military , national strategy, foreign strategy and many other aspects. The complexity of the South China Sea issue has escalated in a straight line due to the national entities of 6 countries and 7 parties and multi-level reasons.
In the early years, my country faced various social problems brought about by rapid development. Regarding the South China Sea issue, it always adhered to the attitude of "putting aside disputes and developing together", but this also resulted in as many as 42 islands and reefs in the South China Sea being occupied by neighboring countries.
In recent years, my country's ability to reclaim the sea, build land, and develop offshore has gradually improved, and then the South China Sea issue has been elevated to a national strategic level.
Two. Contestability of sovereignty over the South China Sea
As one of China's three major marginal seas, the South China Sea is the first barrier to external coastal defense in southeastern China, and it is also an important part of the overall strategic layout of the navy.In addition, the rich natural resources contained in the South China Sea are also one of the reasons why many countries are in constant competition.
Chinese people have always been "relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, and relying on the sea to eat the sea". The rich fish and shrimp resources in the South China Sea can be said to nourish a large number of fishermen who make a living, and deep-sea ocean fishing is even more satisfied There is a huge market demand in the surrounding areas of the South China Sea. Of course, the more important resources in the South China Sea are energy reserves.
After investigation, the Zhongsha Islands have more than ten metal elements such as iron, manganese, and copper. The phosphate rock, which is widely used in medicine, agriculture, and national defense, also has extremely high reserves in the South China Sea.
Many years ago, China was limited by science and technology, and even if it knew that such a large amount of resources were hidden in the South China Sea, it could not achieve reasonable development and utilization. The development is also in full swing.
In the eyes of neighboring countries, the charm of these energy sources must be great. Many countries represented by the Philippines have small roads and it is difficult to obtain a resource mining environment with both quality and quantity guarantees. However, the development of any country is inseparable from Open energy support.
In the face of absolute interests, it is difficult to keep the so-called friendship from deteriorating, and the offensive against China based on interests seems to be predictable.
One of the participants in the development of the South China Sea issue that has to be mentioned is and the United States.
The South China Sea is an important sea area connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean . It is the busiest maritime transport line in mainland China , Taiwan province , Japan and other countries. Every day, a large amount of petroleum travels through the South China Sea. In terms of freight , 21 of my country's 39 sea routes to the rest of the world pass through the South China Sea.
Therefore, if the sovereignty of the South China Sea falls into the hands of other countries, there will be huge risks in China's energy import and export freight trade.
On the other hand, China's actual control of the South China Sea has curbed the United States' intention to cross the Pacific Ocean to strengthen its alliance with the Indian Ocean countries, so that China will not face the danger of being attacked by the enemy.
The United States has regarded China as its biggest competitor in recent years, and has taken a tough stance on issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and has habitually interfered in China's internal affairs. "One China" theory, but they stand on the opposite side of the Chinese government with practical actions.
In order to prepare for an escalation of the Taiwan Strait war in the future, China is also determined to gain sovereignty over the South China Sea.
Once wars break out, the South China Sea will not only be China's effective counterattack against the so-called "first island chain in the Pacific" by the United States, but also ensure that our troops can achieve maritime blockade and defense as quickly as possible.
In the early years, the strength of the Chinese navy was completely incomparable to that of powerful countries such as the United States and Japan. Insufficient experience in modern maritime operations, weak armament, insufficient anti-submarine and capabilities, and poor ocean-going strike capabilities plagued China on the South China Sea issue. voice.
However, with the efforts of generations of Chinese people, China has overcome many difficulties in the development of "aircraft carriers", equipped the aircraft carrier battle group with new weapons developed by itself, and created a brand new image of the Chinese navy.
Among them, the islands in the South China Sea also play the role of not being an aircraft carrier rather than an aircraft carrier. Among the seven islands and reefs actually controlled by China, Yongxing Island, Yongshu Reef , Zhubi Island and Mischief Reef were It is built according to the military base standard.
Large-scale military equipment has been deployed on the island, and a complete living facility has been built for officers and soldiers stationed on the island. At the same time, a airport runway that can meet the take-off and landing conditions of large military transport aircraft and fighter jets has been built.
As a natural military location, the average depth of water in the South China Sea is over 1212 meters, and it has the conditions to build a military wharf. my country is also gradually building a United Airlines base on the tripartite Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Island and Mischief Reef. According to At present, it can be seen from the current planning that my country's strategic depth is going deeper into the Pacific Ocean, and the strategic significance of the sovereignty of the South China Sea to China is self-evident.
three. Coveted by many countries, aggravating conflicts
The United States has always been the most active presence on the South China Sea issue, even more concerned about the South China Sea than the countries directly involved. In the past two decades, the United States has continuously provoked Japan, the Philippines, etc. China is causing trouble in the South China Sea. In fact, the reason why the United States insists on biting China can be traced back to the last century.
In 1945, following the defeat of World War II Japan announced its surrender and returned all the territory it occupied to China, including the Nansha Islands, but shortly after the founding of New China, the United States and Japan signed an unrecognized and flawed " San Francisco Peace Treaty " , which includes such an article: Japan renounces the sovereignty of Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, the Nansha Islands, and the Paracel Islands.
This treaty, which redefines China's territorial sovereignty, dramatically fails to take China's views into account, and even defines these places as no-man's land through wordplay like "abandon" rather than "return", which is also the United States. The strategy against China deployed as early as the middle of the last century is another bane of attracting foreign enemies in addition to the value of the Nansha Islands.
The dispute over the sovereignty of the South China Sea has directly led to a series of incidents such as the dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands and the China-Philippines South China Sea arbitration case. Today, the United States has directly deployed its military forces on the border of the Philippines, which faces China across the sea, in an attempt to fight against China. The Chinese Navy realizes real-time monitoring.
The United States, which is heavily indebted to foreign countries, does not hesitate to provide military assistance to the Philippines and other countries every year. With the support of the United States, the Philippines has always stood firm on the South China Sea issue.
frequently mentioned the 2016 arbitration case directed and acted by the Philippines. As the big brother behind the scenes, the United States even joined the European Union to call on China to abide by the results of the South China Sea arbitration case. The United States and the Philippines have left the international order behind in front of their interests The behavior is really ridiculous.
The various strategies of the United States towards China all show how much thought it has spent on containing China's development. Since the United States and the Philippines and other countries are unwilling to accept China's proposal of "joint development", they must take all interests into their own arms. China, then China will not allow these countries to continue to misbehave in the South China Sea.
In 2017, China's self-propelled heavy-duty self-propelled cutter suction vessel " Tiankun " came out, breaking the technical blockade of China's reclamation by foreign countries, and the reclamation of some islands and reefs in the Nansha, Zhongsha and Xisha Islands is no longer a problem. , If other countries want to ignore China's attitude and do not accept China's proposed method of peaceful settlement of disputes, it is impossible to build a deep-sea outpost in the South China Sea.
Just like Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Hua Chunying's response to US Secretary of State Lincoln remarks concerning the South China Sea: militarization of the South China Sea, undermining the rules of the international system, and undermining the values of the United States and the West, these hats are not attached to China on the head.
The resolution of the South China Sea issue will not be left to the US. What the US should do is not to extend its tentacles to every corner of the world. Only by truly learning to respect other countries can we win the respect of more countries.
