Beijing: China is asserting its symbolic sovereignty through cartographic manipulation by renaming maritime features in the South China Sea, a report said on Thursday.
It added that, under Chinese President Xi Jinping, China has named and renamed approximately 100 geographical features in the South China Sea as part of a major initiative.
“For more than a decade, Beijing has pursued an uncompromising agenda in the South and East China Seas, transforming contested waters into a bully’s playground. What began as creeping encroachment using artificial islands, incremental coast guard patrols, and ambiguous grey-zone tactics has now escalated into overt acts of aggression,” a report in ‘Maldives Insight’ detailed.
“The sweet-sounding and well-intentioned words from Beijing, like ‘peaceful development’, ‘mutual trust’, and ‘community of shared future for mankind’, are used to deceive the world into accepting a benign image of China, defending its rights. The recent clashes with Philippine vessels at Scarborough Shoal, involving water cannons, collisions, and injuries to sailors, confirm a pattern that China’s actions are not defensive but deliberately expansionist,” it added.
According to the report, Beijing’s designation of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in South China as a protected marine area effectively restricts the Philippine access under the pretext of conservation.
In August 2023, it said, the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources issued a standard cartographic map. The “controversial” map reinforced Beijing’s claim over most of the South China Sea, highlighting the “nine-dash line”. Notably, the report said, the map included a new section east of Taiwan, depicting the island as part of China and extending the line to ten dashes, emphasising Beijing’s claims through non-military means.
“Beijing has a consistent aim to reframe disputed territory as Chinese domestic space, thereby normalising the coercive enforcement. However, most importantly, these activities have worked as a catalyst to wake the stakeholders from their slumber and resist Chinese expansionism. Chinese coercion has made the problems of the region a global challenge,” the report stressed.
The report highlighted that the Scarborough Shoal incident in September exemplifies China’s reliance on force, with the Chinese Coast Guard( CCG) using high-pressure water cannons against Philippine supply and coast guard ships after one of the Filipino ships collided with a CCG ship. (IANS)
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