Dennis C. Blair and Jeffrey W. Hornung, Washington Post: China’s self-defeating provocations in the South China Sea
China’s deployment of surface-to-air missile launchers to the largest island in the Paracels chain has led to a spike in alarmist analysis. China’s provocative act is being portrayed as a watershed indicator that it is bent on military dominance of the South China Sea.
It is important to understand the facts and history to identify the true concerns.
First, facts and history: Satellite images of Woody Island in the Paracels from early February showed the HQ-9 air defense system deployed there for the first time. Woody Island is in the northern section of the South China Sea. It is about 250 miles southeast of Hainan Island and 500 miles north of the Spratly Islands that China has enlarged by land reclamation. Unlike the Spratly Islands, which are contested by multiple states, the Paracel Islands are claimed by only China (and Taiwan) and Vietnam. Woody Island itself has been controlled by Beijing for decades and has been heavily built up with civilian and military structures. In any impartial arbitration, China would have a strong claim to this island.
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WNU Editor: For as long as I can remember .... China has had border disputes with all of its neighbours for years. The South China Sea dispute is just another one, but a dispute over water boundaries instead of land borders.
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