Daily Lessons from Life 27 July 2012 - China appoints officers to South China Sea garrison

"China appoints officers to South China Sea garrison - AFP 27 July 2012

BEIJING: China has appointed military officers at a newly-established garrison in the South China Sea, state media reported on Friday, in the country's latest step to bolster claims to disputed islands in the area.

The defence ministry announced the appointments on Thursday, the China Daily said, two days after China said it had established the city of Sansha on an island in the area, along with the military garrison. Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said that the garrison has responsibility for defence mobilisation, guarding the city and disaster relief, among other functions.

However, he added that a separate maritime garrison under the Chinese navy was responsible for maritime defence and military combat, appearing to suggest that the Sansha garrison would not have such responsibilities. "Whether a military establishment has combat forces or not depends on its military tasks," he said, according to China Daily.

Vietnam and the Philippines condemned China's decision earlier this week to set up the garrison, with Hanoi on Tuesday filing a formal protest and Manila lodging a complaint with China's ambassador. Yang said how China deploys its military within its own borders is irrelevant to other countries, China Daily said.

China says it owns much of the South China Sea, though Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia each claim portions of it. The dispute has simmered for decades, though tensions have risen markedly recently as China has moved to more strongly assert its territorial claims. The Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) at a summit earlier this month failed for the first time in 45 years to issue a joint statement, as members were unable to agree how to refer to China's behaviour in the disputed waters."

Political brinkmanship? Dicing with danger? More postulation and positioning to come for sure no matter what and how you describe the current situation in the South China Sea!

Lessons for me are:

1. lay your claims as you feel legally entitled to do so;

2. do follow the international laws and precedences set on settlement of such territorial claims UNLESS the so-called established international laws and precedences are VERY biased and SET very bad examples due to OLD OLD mistakes!;

3. going to war is an option for sure but will NEVER be mentioned lightly. If the natural resources are indeed that rich, surely the various countries and share the exploration cost and the resulting distribution of the harvest. Yes? Political willing?

China has to be very careful NOT to project a BIG Bully image that it detests country like USA is projecting in their eyes. Otherwise, it may end up being perceived as a BIG BULLY in the mode of the big bad USA!! That would be ironical!