A new challenge in the South China Sea—
as more US allies move through the region.
What could this mean for China’s territorial claims?
This is China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
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If you want to understand China’s military ambitions,
look no further than the South China Sea,
“The South China Sea is one of the busiest
and most militarized shipping routes in the world.
Experts also believe a wealth of oil and gas
is lying below the surface.
China claims almost all of this body of water for itself.”
Now obviously most countries along the South China Sea
don’t agree with that claim.
But they’re not the ones who built
artificial islands in the middle of it.
Or put rocket launchers on them.
And if you thought that was scary,
you haven’t seen China’s new artificial island theme park.
For years, the US has been challenging
the Chinese Communist Party’s claims—
by sending in warships to disputed waters.
They’re called freedom of navigation operations,
or FONOPS.
There’s already been two FONOPS this year.
The most recent one was just this past week.
Two US warships sailed within
12 nautical miles of the Mischief Reef,
part of the Spratly Islands,
which Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Vietnam, and of course China claim.
12 nautical miles off the coast is important,
because that’s the edge of what China calls
its rightful territorial waters—
and the other countries call “nuh uh!”
Obviously China was not happy with the move.
"The U.S. insisted on stirring up trouble in the South China Sea,
creating tension to harm peace and security in the South China Sea,
which is unpopular.”
Yes, it was unpopular.
With the Chinese leadership.
But for other countries, it *is* pretty popular.
And now US allies are getting in on the FONOPS fun.
The UK is sending its newest aircraft carrier to the Pacific.
The UK Defence Secretary also floated the idea
of its own military bases in Southeast Asia.
And it’s not just the UK.
Australia has sent its warships
through the South China Sea, too.
Even Canada has.
I have to admit,
I didn’t even know that Canada had warships.
I just assumed that anytime Canada
faced a conflict at sea,
they just apologized and offered everyone
maple syrup and poutine.
But seriously,
battle lines are being drawn in the South China Sea.
The top U.S. commander in the Indo-Pacific,
Admiral Philip Davidson, recently said
in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
that China is the “greatest long-term strategic threat”
to a free and open Indo-Pacific—
and to the United States.
And he said it’s not just a matter of
the US competing with a rising China.
Davidson said,
“I believe we are facing something even more serious:
a fundamental divergence in values
that leads to two incompatible visions of the future."
That’s pretty bleak.
But there is another option—
a future that’s not dominated by the US or China.
The answer, of course, is Cthulhu.
And for all you fans of non-Euclidean geometry,
now is the time when I answer a question
from a fan who supports China Uncensored
on the crowd funding website Patreon.
Venomous422 asks,
“Do you think the US-Chinese relations
will have a chance to improve during
the current Chinese presidents life
or is he against the US completely?”
That’s an interesting question,
especially as the US and China
are knee-deep in trade talks.
When you say during the current Chinese president’s life—
you’re probably referring to how Xi Jinping removed term limits,
so he could continue to be president indefinitely.
He’s only 65 years old now,
so let’s say he’s got another 20 years.
In that time,
we’ll have at least two more US presidents,
after Trump,
that will have to deal with Xi Jinping.
We don’t know what those US presidents will be like,
so it’s hard to predict how they’ll deal with him or with China.
It’s also possible that Xi Jinping will get ousted
because of internal political infighting.
It’s hard to say what Xi Jinping personally thinks about the US.
The Chinese Communist Party as a whole definitely
sees the US as an adversary,
and their current trajectory
to gaining more power internationally
depends on subverting the US and other Western democracies.
But that’s kind of backfiring,
because now there’s a fundamental shift
going on in how many Western democracies
are viewing the Chinese Communist Party.
I think overall US-China relations will improve
only if Xi Jinping can start making
the fundamental systemic changes the US wants.
But that’s the kind of change that’s hard
for an authoritarian regime to make.
So as long as the Chinese Communist Party stays in power,
I think a fundamental improvement in US-China relations
is not going to happen.
Thanks for your question, Venomous422.
So why am I answering questions on the show?
It’s because a lot of advertisers
don’t dare to work with a show
that criticizes the Chinese Communist Party.
So we rely on support from viewers like you
on the crowdfunding website Patreon.
Answering your questions on the show
is one of my ways of saying thank you.
So head over to patreon.com/chinaucnensored
to find out how you can keep China, uncensored.
Thanks for watching.
Once again I’m your host Chris Chappell.
See you next time.