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{"source_url": "https://www.news.com.au", "url": "https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/we-are-losing-control-chinas-dangerous-south-china-sea-plan-almost-complete/news-story/cc53d07774033f2aa70c8fbe75b5eae3", "title": "South China Sea: China\u2019s \u2018dangerous\u2019 plan almost complete", "top_image": "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/e54523729c2e0731b4f6fcb94cbed680?width=650", "meta_img": "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/e54523729c2e0731b4f6fcb94cbed680?width=650", "images": ["https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/spp-api/v1/template/?path=components.nav-primary&t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/5e2c42097522a0018037a20249af6fdd?t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/thumbnail", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/cf3d149ec9bbb9b7eb808e663eec8a28?t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/thumbnail", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/d6d2eb5a4e7540d5d7bc79b3f354accb?width=650", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ce4aa252e45f1b1fde16bc88ff797a7e?width=650", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/adee3db86710bd5cd329656dcd043236", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/92e00a4f8507d8c45c5f91c84556e310", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/192770133f1448e2d227d682e82e0a96", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/f50d94363f813785e51e5e6e7c50c449?width=650", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6ea39ab07bb2be1c70941652e5b92e0e", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/0700f47cf972fcbb2e1478153c0a501a?t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/thumbnail", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/spp-api/v1/template/?path=components.header-desktop&t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/53c55b2a80191225c35d6c4f87b83485?width=650", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/d9eaf4dcf79538529f76f5e17f71aef8", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/resource/networksales/exoduscampaigns/campaigns.json?esi=true&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/networksales-loader/index&td_channel=desktop&td_domain=news.com.au&td_pagetype=story&td_section=technology/innovation/military", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ec8ed42b4a13cbfb47f568053f6f24d1?width=650", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/2d61429c74e451f7785c5ca513b1f5dd", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6af7081bfa0b7f0a52ae4a6512612199", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/cc53d07774033f2aa70c8fbe75b5eae3?t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/thumbnail", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/chartbeat/live/toppages/v3/?esi=true&host=news.com.au&limit=5§ion=technology&sort_by=internal&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/trending&td_heading=trending%2520in%2520technology&td_showcount=true&td_showimages=true&type=article", "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/e54523729c2e0731b4f6fcb94cbed680?width=650", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/cdd7f6c06bf717f3bc05f7d12d9fedf3?t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau&t_template=s3/ncatemp/bodyandsoul/fragment/thumbnail", "https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/spp-api/v1/template/?articleGMT=11&path=components.footer-desktop&t_domain=news.com.au&t_product=newscomau"], "movies": [], "text": "Pressure is mounting for Australia to get involved in the South China Sea conflict.\n\nThe battle for the South China Sea is heating up. Vietnam. Malaysia. The Philippines. All have drawn lines in the sandbars against China. But it may already be too late.\n\nThis past year, Vietnam stood its ground over the right to deploy an oil rig within its UN-mandated waters. Malaysia complained publicly of interference by the Chinese coastguard. The Philippines moved to secure its Scarborough Shoal islands. And, all the while, new nations have been joining the Freedom of Navigation pushback over Beijing\u2019s claims to the South China Sea.\n\nChina\u2019s aggressive military moves have forced members of the traditionally timid Association of Southeastern Nations (ASEAN) to reassess their stance.\n\nMany are already focused on modernising their armed forces, with defence spending in the region doubling over the past 15 years. That spending is moving away from counter-terrorism efforts towards higher-level conventional warfare.\n\nBut nations like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are beginning to realise they cannot stand alone. September marked a seismic shift in the region\u2019s thinking.\n\nTen Southeast Asian nations joined the United States Navy in five days of war-games. While it involved only eight warships and four aircraft, it marked an unprecedented step down the path towards regional unity.\n\nBut Chairman Xi Jinping\u2019s bellicose assertion of his nine-dash-line South China Sea policy is yet to be checked.\n\nVIETNAM ON THE FRONT LINE\n\nTwo Communist nations are at the forefront of the South China Sea crisis. Vietnam is defending its UN-mandated territorial rights. China has dismissed them.\n\nDespite the immense disparity between the two nations\u2019 economies and armed forces, Hanoi isn\u2019t backing down. Instead, it has taken the lead among its Asian neighbours to assert its borders.\n\nFor four months, Vietnam\u2019s tiny coast guard stood nose-to-nose against much larger Chinese vessels over the disputed Vanguard Bank oil and gas fields. Hanoi had hired a Russian firm to establish an exploratory rig. Beijing countered, using the guise of sea floor mapping to interfere with its operations.\n\nVietnam threatened to take the dispute to the same international court of arbitration that in 2016 rejected China\u2019s claims over Philippine territory. Beijing was indignant at the suggestion, with a foreign ministry spokesman declaring Hanoi \u201cneeds to avoid taking actions that may complicate matters or undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea as well as our bilateral relations\u201d.\n\nPresident Nguyen Phu Trong dug in his heels: \u201cVietnam would \u201cnever concede the issues of sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s a stance the United States is keen to encourage.\n\n\u201cWe will not accept attempts to assert unlawful maritime claims at the expense of law-abiding nations,\u201d US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said in a November visit to Hanoi. \u201cThe United States firmly opposes intimidation by any claimant to assert its territorial or maritime claims, and we call for an end to the bullying and unlawful activities.\u201d\n\nHe then announced the supply of surplus US Coast Guard vessels to bolster Vietnam\u2019s fleet.\n\nSenior defence analyst Derek Grossman of the RAND strategic think tank says this co-operation is just the first step.\n\n\u201cHanoi could also continue to grow and deepen its web of defence ties with ASEAN countries, Australia, Japan, and Indi,\u201d Mr Grossman says. \u201cGetting those countries to speak up during the next crisis \u2013 none did so this time \u2013 will be a challenge but not impossible.\u201d\n\nAnd many analysts argue that crisis may be just around the corner.\n\nA LOST BATTLE?\n\n\u201cThe PRC is currently consolidating and normalising control of the SCS seized in 2015 following 20 years of hybrid warfare,\u201d former ADF intelligence analyst Dr Mark Baily warns in an essay published by the Australian Naval Institute.\n\n\u201cTheir normalisation phase will include civilian settlement of the artificial military base-islands, establishment of a \u2018patriotic tourist industry\u2019 and cynical insistence that the artificial military base-islands it forcibly seized are sovereign territory and therefore possess territorial seas and exclusive economic zones,\u201d he wrote.\n\nTheir existence represents both a strategic and ideological victory for Beijing.\n\nThe island fortresses extend the range of combat aircraft, ships and missiles. They also act as surveillance platforms over any shipping that passes through the South China Sea.\n\n\u201cChina\u2019s facilities have probably already reached a level of capability that no outside combatant which enters the South China Sea, however covertly, can be completely confident it is not being tracked,\u201d says Professor James Goldrick of UNSW Canberra.\n\nAnd there is danger in thinking of the island fortresses as China\u2019s \u201cgreat wall of sand\u201d. It entrenches Beijing\u2019s goal of \u201cregarding the waters that lie between them and the mainland as Chinese territory\u201d.\n\nWhether or not these islands are unsinkable aircraft carriers or immovable targets is irrelevant, Mr Goldrick says. \u201cThey\u2019re a very public statement of China\u2019s power under its nationalist narrative of \u201creunifying a supposed ideal Chinese nation-state on equally supposed ideal historical boundaries\u201d.\n\nTHE NEXT CONQUEST\n\nDr Baily highlights this is the second time the South China Sea has fallen under the strategic control of one regional power. It started with Japan and Britain jostling for diplomatic influence during the 1930s. It escalated into base building and military posturing. It climaxed with the defeat of the British at Singapore and the destruction of the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.\n\n\u201cThe loss of strategic control of the South China Sea has destabilised the region and revealed the PRC to be intent on regional hegemony. This mirrors the strategic situation of the 1930s, which generated a major regional war by 1937 and expanded to general war in 1941. This level of strategic risk is without precedent since the late 1950s and requires responses dormant in Australia since that era.\u201d\n\nThe objective of Beijing\u2019s South China Sea actions are clear, he argues: \u201cA trade route is being garrisoned via fortress building.\u201d\n\nAs a result, Dr Baily says, regional nations must band together to block China\u2019s next expansionist ambition.\n\n\u201cWhile the danger has been recognised 15 years too late, initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Maritime co-ordination cell may help prevent losing strategic control of the Indian Ocean.\u201d\n\nWith the South China Sea virtually secured, Beijing is expected to further ramp up its activities in the southern hemisphere. Particularly, the \u201cbelt\u201d between the Persian Gulf and China, along which 43 per cent of its oil supply flows.\n\n\u201cThis helps explain PRC territorial aggression in the SCS and efforts to dominate the Indian Ocean as part of its Belt and Road Initiative,\u201d Dr Baily warns. \u201cThe Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is acting on national sovereign requirements which ignore the \u2018rules-based international order\u2019.\u201d\n\nJamie Seidel is a freelance writer. Continue the conversation @JamieSeidel", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": ["strategic control", "artificial military base-islands", "island fortresses", "maritime claims", "armed forces", "higher-level conventional warfare", "intelligence analyst", "patriotic tourist industry", "Senior defence analyst", "foreign ministry spokesman", "unsinkable aircraft carriers", "normalisation phase", "aggressive military moves", "defence ties", "amphibious assault troops", "assault troops practice", "trade route", "oil rig", "military exercise", "surveillance platforms", "gas fields", "combat aircraft", "oil supply flows", "ideal Chinese nation-state", "Chinese territory", "territorial aggression", "nationalist narrative", "Chinese vessels", "Chinese coastguard", "territorial seas", "territorial integrity", "Asian nations", "military posturing", "sovereign territory", "territorial rights", "expansionist ambition", "timid Association", "counter-terrorism efforts", "immense disparity", "civilian settlement", "seafloor mapping", "sovereign requirements", "Asian neighbours", "hybrid warfare", "Russian firm", "international court", "United States of America", "Northern America", "North America", "America", "United Kingdom", "Northern Europe", "Europe", "Thailand", "South-eastern Asia", "Asia", "Australia", "Australia and New Zealand", "Oceania", "Philippines", "Malaysia", "China", "Eastern Asia", "Vietnam", "Japan", "United States Navy", "Chinese Communist Party", "Agence France Presse", "Indo-Pacific Maritime Coordination Cell", "Australian Naval Institute", "Vanguard Bank", "Association of Southeastern Nations", "Nguyen Phu Trong", "James Goldrick", "Derek Grossman", "Xi Jinping", "Mark Esper", "Mark Baily"], "tags": [], "authors": ["Jamie Seidel"], "publish_date": "Wed Jan 1 22:01:00 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "The battle for the South China Sea is heating up. Vietnam. Malaysia. The Philippines. All have drawn lines in the sandbars against China. But it may already be too late.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "https://resources.newscdn.com.au/cs/nca/latest/public/img/favicons/favicon.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width", "generator": "tcog", "articleid": "cc53d07774033f2aa70c8fbe75b5eae3", "article": {"published_time": "2020-01-01T22:01:00.000Z", "modified_time": "2020-01-01T22:57:03.000Z", "publisher": "News Limited", "author": "Jamie Seidel", "publicationdate": "02/01/2020"}, "description": "The battle for the South China Sea is heating up. Vietnam. Malaysia. The Philippines. All have drawn lines in the sandbars against China. But it may already be too late.", "keywords": "strategic control,artificial military base-islands,island fortresses,maritime claims,armed forces,higher-level conventional warfare,intelligence analyst,patriotic tourist industry,Senior defence analyst,foreign ministry spokesman,unsinkable aircraft carriers,normalisation phase,aggressive military moves,defence ties,amphibious assault troops,assault troops practice,trade route,oil rig,military exercise,surveillance platforms,gas fields,combat aircraft,oil supply flows,ideal Chinese nation-state,Chinese territory,territorial aggression,nationalist narrative,Chinese vessels,Chinese coastguard,territorial seas,territorial integrity,Asian nations,military posturing,sovereign territory,territorial rights,expansionist ambition,timid Association,counter-terrorism efforts,immense disparity,civilian settlement,seafloor mapping,sovereign requirements,Asian neighbours,hybrid warfare,Russian firm,international court,United States of America,Northern America,North America,America,United Kingdom,Northern Europe,Europe,Thailand,South-eastern Asia,Asia,Australia,Australia and New Zealand,Oceania,Philippines,Malaysia,China,Eastern Asia,Vietnam,Japan,United States Navy,Chinese Communist Party,Agence France Presse,Indo-Pacific Maritime Coordination Cell,Australian Naval Institute,Vanguard Bank,Association of Southeastern Nations,Nguyen Phu Trong,James Goldrick,Derek Grossman,Xi Jinping,Mark Esper,Mark Baily", "og": {"image": "https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/e54523729c2e0731b4f6fcb94cbed680?width=650", "title": "China\u2019s \u2018dangerous\u2019 plan almost complete", "type": "article", "url": "https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/we-are-losing-control-chinas-dangerous-south-china-sea-plan-almost-complete/news-story/cc53d07774033f2aa70c8fbe75b5eae3", "site_name": "NewsComAu", "description": "The battle for the South China Sea is heating up. 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