Chinese authorities released a newly drawn map this month that claims ownership of nearly all of the South China Sea, an area larger than India, stretching from China’s shores thousands of kilometres to the territorial waters of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The English-language Global Times, which communicates policy of the Communist Party government, described it as a “normal exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law.”

The Filipino secretary of defence sees it differently, calling the new map “control and occupation over the South China Sea.”

In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Gilberto Teodoro says the move “absolutely proves [China’s] intent of expanding and being more assertive.”

“If that’s not stopped, then the whole international rules-based order is in jeopardy.”

He says Chinese control over the South China Sea could imperil the freedom of movement for nations all over the world.

      • @AngryCommieKender@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0•1 year ago

        It is now, it wouldn’t have been prior to Feb of 2022. Even now, you completely remove the US and China from global events freeing up those massively rich resource stockpiles, combined with Russia’s current wartime production, and it’s a war of attrition for everyone else, while Russia quietly annexes former Chinese territory that is rich in coal and oil in the northeast of China. India will probably claim the northwest since that also has some massive oil fields. The only countries that could have opposed Russia on the ocean just disappeared, so they now have the largest Navy by a lot.

        The French could oppose them in one theater since they now have the only nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the world, since the other 11 nuclear carriers disappeared with the US, and they also have 3 diesel carriers, out of the total of 34, 9 of which disappeared with the US, and another 3 disappeared with China, so they have a total of 4 of the 23 carriers that now exist in the world. Japan owns 4, England owns 2, Italy owns 2, Australia owns 2, Egypt owns 2, South Korea owns 2, India owns 1, Russia owns 1, Spain owns 1, Brazil owns 1, Thailand owns 1.

        The thing is that without China and The US to mitigate the Russian war machine, they’re gonna make significant gains so that they can reclaim dominance, until a new superpower emerges in North America.

        Maybe the French, Indians, Australia, and Britain working together could hold them off from retaking a lot of eastern Europe, but… I kinda doubt it.