Opinion: Washington's malicious drive to roil South China Sea destined to fail

Undated file photo shows the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force conducting a joint combat patrol mission in the South China Sea. (Xinhua)

The U.S. has sent military aircraft to the region more than 2,000 times in the first half of this year alone.

The U.S. tries to drive wedges between China and related Southeast Asian nations, push those countries to the front and enlist them as pawns in its anti-China agenda.

Washington's malign scheme to make the South China Sea another anti-China battleground will certainly fail.

by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Washington announced on Wednesday its decision to blacklist Chinese enterprises and individuals involved in China's construction in the South China Sea, further exposing its intention to foment division and spur tensions in the region.

The move marks yet another one of Washington's blatant attempts to meddle in the region's maritime territorial disputes with arbitrary sanctions, an ostentatious breach of its commitment to not taking any side among related parties.

For starters, China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters. China's infrastructure construction on its own territory is an exercise of national sovereignty in accordance with international law.

Aerial photo taken on July 29, 2020 shows the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform and its supply ship in the northern waters of the South China Sea. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

Seeking to justify its ill-founded decision, Washington has falsely accused Beijing of so-called "militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea," while trying to portray itself as a keeper of peace in the region. Yet, the truth is that the United States has sent military aircraft to the region more than 2,000 times in the first half of this year alone. That clearly shows who is posing a threat to regional peace.

By rolling out such provocative unilateral actions, the White House aims to create divisions in the region. It tries to drive wedges between China and related Southeast Asian nations, push those countries to the front and enlist them as pawns in its anti-China agenda. Furthermore, the attempt of those China hawks in Washington to stoke up waves in the South China Sea reveals a deeper intent to obstruct China's development and pursue hegemony in the region.

Washington's malign scheme to make the South China Sea another anti-China battleground will certainly fail. Since regional countries share a common aspiration to maintain stability and prosperity in the South China Sea, which is the only way to best serve their fundamental economic and security interests.

"The South China Sea is the shared home for the countries in the region and should not be a wrestling ground for international politics," Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Xinhua earlier this month, urging all regional countries to be vigilant, and prevent the region's hard-won peace and development from being sabotaged by the United States.

The 15th Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) is held in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, June 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

Likewise, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said recently that the Philippines would not join the navies of other countries, like the United States, in maritime drills in the South China Sea for fear of raising tensions in the area.

Meanwhile, according to Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, relevant negotiations in the region have made positive progress. Thanks to shared efforts by all related parties, the South China Sea has remained generally stable.

And since the COVID-19 outbreak, China has been working with regional countries to contain the deadly pathogen, while cargo ships and airplanes loaded with medical supplies for the coronavirus battle have been busy navigating through the South China Sea, providing a lifeline underpinned by mutual help in these troubled times.

Those have demonstrated regional countries' similar stance to settle disputes through dialogue among countries directly concerned and oppose external forces interfering in regional affairs.

Looking into the future, China, as it has done before, will continue to strengthen maritime cooperation with other related parties, deepen mutual security confidence, and advance joint development, so as to make the South China Sea "a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation."