China ready for war over islands
Beijing raises the possibility of a clash after the nominee for US secretary of state hits out.
China’s state media has warned Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s nominee for United States secretary of state, that Washington should ‘‘prepare for a devastating confrontation’’ if he orders the US Navy to blockade disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Tillerson said Chinese forces should be blocked from regions such as the Spratly Islands that Beijing has reclaimed and fortified.
An editorial in the China Daily newspaper said such a move would ‘‘set a course for devastating confrontation between China and the US’’.
The Global Times, another staterun newspaper, said: ‘‘Unless Washington plans to wage a largescale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish.’’
The Chinese government tightly controls its state media outlets. The Global Times has a particularly nationalistic tone and often runs editorials criticising the policies of foreign countries.
Tillerson said at his confirmation hearing in the US Senate: ‘‘We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island building stops and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.
‘‘They are taking territory or control or declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China’s.’’
Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have competing territorial claims in the sea that conflict with Beijing’s ambitions. In recent years China has built runways and armed several islets and reefs that it has reclaimed.
The Global Times editorial continued: ‘‘As Trump has yet to be sworn in, China has shown restraint whenever his team members expressed radical views. But the US should not be misled into thinking that Beijing will be fearful of their threats.
‘‘If Trump’s diplomatic team shapes future Sino-US ties as it is doing now, the two sides had better prepare for a military clash.’’
It was acknowledged, however, that Tillerson’s comments could simply amount to bluster. China Daily said: ‘‘Such remarks are not worth taking seriously because they are a mish-mash of naivety, short-sightedness, worn-out prejudices, and unrealistic political fantasies. Should he act on them in the real world, it would be disastrous.’’
Lu Kang, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, gave a more restrained response. ‘‘The South China Sea situation has cooled down, and we hope nonregional countries can respect the consensus that this is in the fundamental interest of the whole world,’’ he said.
John Kerry, the outgoing US secretary of state, yesterday tried to reassure China that the new administration would stick to the same peaceful principles on Asian security as the current one.
Kerry told a Vietnamese university audience in Ho Chi Minh City that countries, big or small, should refrain from provocation.
He said he was confident that Trump’s administration would continue to adhere to the same good faith with the policies that he had articulated.
An official authorised to speak on behalf of Trump’s transition team said yesterday Tillerson ‘‘did not misspeak’’ when he said China should be barred from its manmade islands.
Amid the conflicting signals on policy, the team appears to be making progress on plans for a major naval buildup in East Asia to counter China’s rise.
The official said specific measures being considered included basing a second aircraft carrier in the region, deploying more destroyers, attack submarines and missile defence batteries, and expanding or adding new bases in Japan and Australia. The team was also looking at installing ‘‘air force long-range strike assets’’ in South Korea.