CHINA'S ASSERTIVENESS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA WILL INCREASE COUNTRY RISK IN NORTHEAST ASIA

Chinese creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea

This week, China warned off Philippine aircraft flying over areas of the South China Sea* adjacent to the Philippines, which claims those reefs and shoals as Philippine territory, being fully within its EEZ. The area is so far south of China that, to date, most Chinese aircraft have not been able to overfly the area. to project power.

This will now change, as China has been busy creating artificial islands that will support runways. Should China assert dominion over crucial shipping lanes, where more than one trillion dollars of goods transit annually, the economies of Japan and the Republic of Korea, could sustain major hits, if their products have trouble reaching Western markets. Exports from Vietnam also could be affected.

Freedom of navigation, in international waters, is vital to the Doctrine of Innocent Passage. Unfortunately, an expanding China, determined to replace the United States as the dominant Pacific power, has chosen to insert itself into in the entire South China Sea region. The consequences, for risk assessment purposes, will be increased Country Risk in the area.
____________________________________________________________________________
* The area west of the Philippines Islands is known in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea.