US freedom of navigation challenged in South China Sea, claims professor
KOTA KINABALU: The issue of China's Nine dash line map and the republic's claim to sovereignty over 90 percent of the South China Sea should worry most in the region, according to Seton Hall University's Emerging Powers and Transnational Trends Centre director Professor Ann Marie Murphy.
Speaking to the Borneo Post recently, Ann Marie said she presented a talk on the issue during the 35th conference of the MalaysiaAmerican Studies Association which took place on Tuesday.
“I spoke about the US freedom of navigation and how that has been challenged in the South China Sea by the (artificial) islands built by China and what the US policy has been to respond to that,” she said.
“I presented that the US interest is in the freedom of navigation through international waters. As you know the South China Sea connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans, some of the world's most strategic waterways.
“About USD4.3 trillion of commerce goes through those waters, including approximately 80 percent of the oil to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan which are key US allies. So, the US has an interest in ensuring that the South China Sea remains open to ships from all over the world,” said Ann Marie who is also a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute.
She said the United Nations (UN) Law of the Sea says that all ships have the right to freedom of navigation through international waters.
“And what China's Nine dash line map is attempting to do is to effectively privatise or nationalize what the global domain is or the international public domain. So that is something that is viewed with great concern by the US government,” she said.
She cautioned that China's Nine dash line map claims sovereignty of 90 percent of the South China Sea, which should worry most in the region.
When asked what are the implications of China's Nine dash line would be for Sabah's hope to propel and grow her shipping industry, Ann Marie said it all depends on what China does.
“Now whether China chose to impede ships from Sabah is very unclear,” she said.
At the same time, Ann Marie also spoke of her meeting with UiTM students which took place on Thursday.
“The Trump administration has not interfered with students going to the US. Most of us want more students from Malaysia going to the US. The only restriction the Trump administration has placed was a ban on seven key countries but that won't certainly impact Malaysia or South East Asia,” she said.
The seven key countries are mainly in the MiddleEeast such as Iran, Syria and Libya.
Ann Marie said Sabahan students keen on studying at her university were welcomed to do so.
“I would be delighted to have some students from Sabah to study there,” she said.
She added that she teaches at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations.
“Our programme is designed for students who want to work in the field of international affairs,” she said, adding that in her class of 400, there is a sole Malaysian student who hails from Penang.
She also said that since the university is located merely 50 miles out of New York City, where the United Nations and many other of the world's largest human rights organisations and journalists organisations exist, there are ample career opportunities for international students. “It is a global city,” she said. She also spoke of the impact of the tariffs on China towards countries like Malaysia, stating that this was a difficult question.
She said that at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping may be meeting, so there may be some resolution.
Ann Marie said anytime there are tariffs, they inject uncertainty to the economic systems everywhere.
“This is not something that is good for any country,” she added.
“But there has been an argument that if China is targeted, that may create opportunities for certain Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, which is fairly high-tech because companies will choose to relocate from China or open some businesses in Malaysia. But that hasn't happened. It is still unclear.”
Ann Marie added that there are significant US businesses located throughout Southeast Asia.
As for her work, she said she studies mostly Southeast Asia international relations and that she does a lot of work on Indonesia and Thailand.
“I work on US policy here. I am also interested in transnational issues, climate change, food and water security, migration and I am interested in how the rise of new powers like Indonesia is impacting global governance,” she said.
On climate change, she said it is a big source of debate in the US that President Trump does not seem to believe in it.
Trump's lack of belief in climate change has had some negative impacts that is disturbing to herself as well as many other academicians, she said.
Prior to ending the interview session, Ann Marie spoke of her intention to come back to Sabah.
“Sabah is beautiful. I want to come back. Now that I have seen it, I will definitely come back,” she said.