RED LINE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA?
Earlier within the convention, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared it could “nearly actually” be a crimson line if a Filipino is “killed by a wilful act” within the South China Sea, and “very, very near … an act of battle”. He was responding to a hypothetical query posed about the usage of water cannons by China’s coast guard towards Philippine ships in disputed waters, the place the 2 nations have had quite a few run-ins.
In actuality, nevertheless, the institution of crimson traces can themselves be a degree of rivalry as a result of the opposite occasion might not settle for or acknowledge their legitimacy. It was reported, as an example, that China briefed the media after Mr Marcos’s speech to push again towards his claims. Within the case of Taiwan, the US believes arms gross sales are respectable below its Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and has continued to take action below successive presidents, regardless that China has repeatedly protested towards them.
The worth and the danger of drawing crimson traces need to be weighed, lest nations again themselves into escalation.
And that’s the reason it’s incumbent on all nations, if they can’t resolve points, to correctly handle them. Certainly, discussions on the Shangri-La Dialogue repeatedly harassed the expectation of accountable behaviour.
