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June 18, 2013 |  | By Dr Monika Chansoria | ||
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The Institute of International Strategic Studies (IISS) hosted the 2013 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore—an annual meeting bringing together defence ministers, permanent heads of ministries, military chiefs and experts on subjects pertaining defence and security, primarily from the Asia-Pacific region. Considered to be a ‘Track One’ event, the timing of the meeting was significant, since it followed a year of heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. Not surprisingly, much of the anxiety was attributed to China’s offensive assertiveness given its expansive sovereignty claimsover the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and a host of South China Sea isles claimed by multiple nations. Addressing delegates at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Dialogue, Lt Gen Qi Jianguo, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began by attempting to strike a conciliatory note stating that differences need to be kept aside and that dialogue and coordination is the way to seek solutions to disputes. However, Qi made it amply clear that Beijing will not compromise on its claims in the East and South China Seas, by issuing an indirect warning that “… dialogue and consultations for the sake of peace by no means denotes unconditional compromise.” Qi further justified patrols undertaken by Chinese warships in the contested and disputed regions as “totally legitimate, as it is uncontroversial to patrol within our own territory.” Expressing Chinese discomfort on the US military re-balancing in Asia, Qi cautioned that “countries in the region should refrain from building military alliances, setting imaginary enemies and taking action against a third party.” China’s recent brazenness over the Senkaku Islands has further heightened tensions with Japan when Chinese maritime surveillance ships entered Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea near the Senkaku Islands. Reacting to Chinese forcefulness, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe explicitly warned China with use of force in the event of Chinese ships making any attempt to land on the disputed islands. Moreover, while speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel highlighted the American position on the issue by a word of warning that Washington opposes any forcible intervention to alter the current status of the Senkaku Islands and “… stands firmly against any coercive attempts to alter the status quo.” It appeared that Lt Gen Qi Jianguo deliberately did not touch upon contentious aspects and refrained from answering questions such as China’s opposition and rejection to arbitration despite its supposed commitment to international law. Despite being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it is widely debated in the Asia-Pacific region that China intends to alter the maritime status quo even with ratifying the UNCLOS. Recent trends in China’s maritime behaviour in East Asia run contrary to international law and customs. China’s state-run and controlled media expressed disappointment over US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel’s declaration at the Shangri-La Dialogue that the US will redeploy 60 percent of its fleet and overseas-based air force to the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. Global Times and other Chinese dailies said that statements and positions such as the above have spoiled the atmospherics especially ahead of a key summit between the Presidents of China and the US. “The military redeployment is a self-deceiving and misguiding effort to check and balance China. This is also an embodiment of the fact that the US is nearly exhausted when it comes to dealing with China’s rise,” said the Global Times. The state-run media highlighted Lt Gen Qi Jianguo’s “moderate stance” on island disputes with Japan and the Philippines. All in all, China has failed in utilising the opportunity and the platform provided by the Shangri-La meeting to provide any tangible reassurances over its role in the Asia-Pacific region’s security imbroglios. On the contrary, China’s rhetoric at the Dialogue clearly stated that notwithstanding the line of peaceful dialogue, Beijing would never compromise on its core national interests—thus suggesting that the prospect of any positive development in the Asia-Pacific security arena continues to remain bleak. The author is a Senior Fellow at CLAWS
Views expressed are personal
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