"The new Trump administration made clear recently it would prevent the People’s Republic of China from “seizing” international territory vis-à-vis its man-made islands in the South China Sea (SCS).
At a press briefing on January 23rd, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer echoed previous comments made by incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at one of his earlier confirmation hearings, that the United States would defend its interests in the SCS.
At Monday’s press conference, Spicer continued.“If those islands are, in fact, in international waters and not part of China proper, yeah, we’ll make sure we defend international interests from being taken over by one country,” he said.
Surely Press Secretary Spicer is aware that China, in fact, built those islands in international waters illegally; and surely the administration is aware that a United Nations tribunal ruled against China in July 2016 in a lawsuit over the islands filed by plaintiff nation, the Philippines.
The incoming Secretary of State too must certainly be aware that Beijing itself has signaled its intention to protect its “sovereignty” over those islands to the point of armed hostilities: most are now equipped with surface-to-air missile batteries and military radar arrays, and they aren’t just for show.
Ergo and in light of Monday’s press conference, both sides must now be aware that 2017 just might be the year that Asia’s Cauldron comes to the boiling point.
The question is, is the Trump Administration ready to handle it?
No comments:
Post a Comment