11:53am, Oct 3, 2016
One of
the United States’ most senior ex-military officers has warned that China and
the US risk open conflict over the South China Sea because of basic
misunderstandings between the two nations.
The former head of National Intelligence and US Pacific Command,
retired Admiral Dennis Blair, told Four Corners he does not believe either America or
China wants to go to war to end the stand-off.
But both sides are locked into opposing positions that make it
almost impossible to reach a compromise, he said.
The South China Sea is one of the most disputed regions on
Earth, with competing claims over islands and reefs from various countries,
including traditional US ally the Philippines.
China has laid claim to a swathe of shoals and islands inside
what is known as the “Nine-Dash Line”, which represents about 90 per cent of
the South China Sea.
“When I’m in discussions with Chinese
[officials] I’m incredibly righteous from the American point of view,” retired
Admiral Blair said.
“I think there’s a notable inability for the two of us to
understand what’s going on, on the other side and to find compromises we can
both live with.”
Previously unreleased satellite images
obtained by Four Corners show that as recently as last month,
Chinese construction crews were continuing engineering works to turn submerged
coral atolls into well-developed island bases.
Chinese coast guard vessels have kept foreign
fishing boats well away from those islands and warned aircraft from flying over
their airspace.
Retired admiral Blair said China’s claims were
“intolerable” for the US and the impasse created a situation in which neither
side can be seen to be backing down.
“We seem to have to deal by a series of
concessions or wins, and that’s the kind of relationship that can escalate up
over time,” he said.
“[It could] lead to conflict. Misunderstanding, then fear and
conflict.”
If conflict were to occur, the retired Admiral
said “neutralising” China’s outposts in the South China Sea was “probably 10 or
15 minutes’ worth of worth of work for US forces”.
He called on the Australian Defence Force to
participate in joint exercises with the US through the contested waters.
“I think Australian and American ships should
exercise together in the South China Sea, showing that, when they need to, they
will send their armed forces in international airspace and water,” he said.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the US had
never asked Australia to take part in exercises within disputed territorial
waters.
“We will continue to do what we’ve always done
and that is traverse the South China Sea, exercising our rights of passage over
water, through the skies,” Ms Bishop said.
In 2013, the Philippines took China to the
Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to settle the dispute.
In July, the court ruled in the Philippines’
favour and found that China’s Nine-Dash Line claim was “incompatible” with the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
China immediately rejected the ruling and
refused to recognise the jurisdiction of the court.
“The assertions of China were contradictory,
unlawful and [in] gross violation of international law,” former Philippine
secretary of foreign affairs Albert Del Rosario said.
“We hope that the international community will
help us in abiding by the ruling.”
You can see the report on Four Corners at
8.30pm Monday on ABC TV.
Image Source: businessinsider
Original source: thenewdaily
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